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Message from the Interim President

Reviving Eastern Collegiate Judo

By-Hector R. Morales

Interim President ECJA

We are in the process of rebuilding the Eastern Collegiate Judo Association. The ECJA was a great organization that provided a competetive experience for many collegiate level athletes since from 1961 until 2003. We owe it to Judo and collegiate level judo athletes to rebuild this opportunity and I challenge you to join me.

On this, the first publication of the new ECJA, we will review the purpose and organization of the Eastern Collegiate Association, present the reasoning of being part of the ECJA and present you with our vision of where Eastern Collegiate should be aiming.

Purpose ECJA

As stated in our constitution, the purpose of the Eastern Collegiate Judo Association is as follows

  1. To develop and improve judo programs in our colleges and Universities at regional and national levels.

  1. To promote judo participation among college and university students

  2. To research and study competitive judo and the quality of instruction with the view to establishing the highest standards of tournament participation, instruction, and conduct

  3. To achieve athletic excellence through competitive intramural and intercollegiate programs.

  4. To maintain and preserve collegiate judo records.

  5. To select competitors and officials to represent ECJA at National level events.

  6. To publish collegiate judo activities

  7. To cooperate and establish effective means of membership or communication with the National Collegiate Associations in order to promote our intercollegiate judo programs in keeping with the highest standards of institutions of higher learning.

Bottom line, ECJA is here to help you, the collegiate Judoka that wants to succeed in promoting their program and keeping the support of the institution.

Member institutions will receive a copy of the constitution as part of the welcome packet we will send that includes a certificate of membership and other helpful documents.

 

Organization of the ECJA

Regional Support will lead to the Overall Success

ECJA is divided into 4 regions. The regional organization should provide an opportunity for the clubs/teams to support each other during the Academic year. The following are the established regions:

New England Regional Conference

Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont

Atlantic Regional Conference

Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania

Central Regional Conference

Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and D.C.

Southern Regional Conference

Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands.

The ECJA leadership understands the financial challenges college students and Judo clubs face because they are not recognized as a "varsity sport"; therefore, the regional conferences should provide a smaller target for collegiate competition purposes and then making the ECJA Championship Tournament the main event of the organization every year.

As we continue to revise the ECJA Constitution, we will bring back the regional representative to the leadership of the organization. These regional directors will then maintain the conference up-to-date on tournament information and events and will report the progress of the conference in our annual meeting. We planning on this, however, it can’t be done without you. We must work together to see judo earn the respect that is due on the athletic collegiate community.

Yours in Judo,

Hector R. Morales