Refereeing Rules

To young judokas and their parents, these are the essentials to better understand and appreciate the refereeing of a judo match:

The competition is conducted in an area of green tatamis framed by a border of red tatamis. These are the combat area and the security areas respectively;.

The red tatamis indicate a 'danger zone' and must be a 1-meter wide border surrounding the green combat area. It remains part of the combat zone.

Two judges assist the referee and are seated at opposite corners of, and just outside, the combat zone. If their opinion differs from the referee's, they must express it by using the appropriate official hand signal.

Pour marquer un avantage, le judoka doit faire chuter son adversaire ou bien l'immobiliser au sol pendant un certain temps (variable selon les catégories d'âge).

In order to score points, a judoka must either throw their opponent or otherwise immobilize them on the ground during a given length of time. The time required varies with the age level of the combatants. Each advantage gained is allotted a certain point value, which is added together at the end of the match to determine the winner. The major advantage is the IPPON, which ends the match and accords an immediate victory.


The referee calls out the points awarded along with the hand signal:

Geste	Avantage	Points	Critères
	IPPON	10 pts	Chute éffectuée: nettement sur le dos; avec force; vitesse; et contrôle.
	WAZA-ARI	7 pts	Chute à laquelle il manque 1 des 4 critères du Ippon. (2 Waza-ari = Ippon)
	YUKO	5 pts	Chute éffectuée: sur le dos mais il manque 2 des 3 autres critères;     ou bien pas sur le dos et il manque 1 des 3 autres critères.
	KOKA	3 pts	Chute éffectuée avec contrôle mais sur les fesses/cuisses.

Advantages and points are also given for immobilizations on the mats depending on the duration: 25 seconds = Ippon, 20 = Waza-ari, 15 = Yuko, 10 = Koka

Penalties or 'Shido' are given when a rule is broken or a lack of combativeness is observed. A 'Shido' accords an advantage to the opponent as follows: 1st Shido = Koka for the opponent, 2nd yields a Yuko and a 3rd gives a Waza-ari. A 4th Shido means disqualification.