The IJF has struck once more.  To placate the Japanese who have complained that their fighters are not seen often enough in a white gi- a crime for sure!- the top seeds will now wear white and be listed on top of each match, thus making sure they remain in white as long as they win.  Scoreboards and match sheets will have to be changed to reflect the change.  At present, I don’t know if that also means that white is now to the right of the referee or whether the placement of white and blue on the mat remains unchanged.  As always, while the IJF claims that this flip-flop is only for major IJF events, will national organization also make the change to stay “current?”  How much will this needless change cost the Judo community?

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