President of the sport's world governing body Marius Vizer, who visited the nation to meet Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, signed the new deal with Georgia's Sports Minister Levan Kifiani and Georgian Judo Federation President David Kevkhishvili.

"I am very happy to be here, you have one of the oldest strongest judo schools in the world," Vizer said.

"It is good that judo is progressed in this country.

"After today's meeting I am sure that judo will be supported in Georgia.

"The Georgian Grand Prix will be held on the first or third week of March.

"We will know exact date later."

The Grand Prix will be held at the Tbilisi Sports Palace and follows Georgia's recent success in the world of judo, which was capped off by a men's team gold in this year's Rio World Championships.

Marius Vizer met with the Georgian national team who won gold at the
World Championships ©IJF


Since its inauguration in 2009, five Grand Prix events have been held annually, alongside four Grand Slams, a Master tournament and a Continental Open tournament, with 500 ranking points being earned by the winner of each Grand Prix.

Alongside the hosting of the Grand Prix event, the parties also signed an agreement to promote and develop a Judo Teaching Project in schools, which looks to bolster the Georgian Judo Federation's efforts at grassroots level.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
October 2013: Georgia and Japan claim team golds on final day of Judo World Junior Championships
October 2013: Europeans dominate World Junior Judo Championships claiming all four titles