The International Judo Federation and Judo Canada signed a contract for a new Grand Prix in Montreal for 2019 while in Nassau, Bahamas ahead of the Junior World Championships on Tuesday. The new IJF World Judo Tour event will take place from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 July in Montreal a week before the Budapest Grand Prix and the agreement is for one year.

Mr. Marius L. Vizer, IJF President, said: “We are looking forward to taking the IJF World Judo Tour to Canada for the inaugural Montreal Grand Prix. This is a tremendous opportunity to further develop judo in Canada and the Pan American region.

“I’m pleased to say that Canada are also candidates to host the 2021 Cadet World Championships and this is an exciting time for Judo Canada.”

Mike Tamura, Judo Canada President, hailed the deal as a watershed moment for Judo Canada. “This is a fantastic opportunity to work with the IJF to deliver one of the top judo events in the world. It’s a great moment for our Federation, for our country, the host city of Montreal and for our team. This will be the first major judo event we have staged since the 1993 World Championships in Hamilton and we’re ready to host the world next year in Montreal.

“The Montreal Grand Prix 2019 will be an Olympic qualifier and we’re confident that we will attract Olympic and world champions while also being able to showcase our own talent and champions at a crucial and historic event for us.

“We’ve worked closely with Sport Canada and the IJF to make this competition a reality and we’re really pleased to have made everything official here in the Bahamas.

“We aim to build on our first Grand Prix by hosting the Cadet World Championships in 2021. We’re committed to making ourselves a leading candidate for this event and we will continue to work towards this goal.

“I’d like to thank all of our partners and sponsors and everyone at Judo Canada and especially the IJF President Mr. Marius L. Vizer for having the confidence and trust in us to host a Grand Prix in 2019.”

The host city of Montreal is also connected with IJF Ambassador and legendary Romanian gymnast Nadia COMANECI. The five-time Olympic gold medallist, who is a regular visitor to IJF World Judo Tour events, famously earned the first perfect 10 at Montreal's 1976 Olympic Games and was the runaway star of the Games.

Stay tuned to www.IJF.org for more information on the Montreal Grand Prix 2019.