15 Jun 2025

Botswana’s Estony Pidgeon has been elected the Governance and Strategy Director of the International Judo Federation (IJF), the global governing body of the martial arts sport, at the IJF Ordinary Congress held in Budapest, Hungary.

Speaking to BOPA after her election, Pidgeon said she was humbled to have been handed the responsibility to serve in the executive committee of the IJF, and was proud to represent the country at a global level.

“It is an honour and a privilege, I am very humbled and pleased that Botswana was recognised with the position,” Pidgeon said.

She revealed that she started being involved with judo as an athlete in 1979, and was elected the President of the Botswana Judo Federation for two terms, a total of eight years from 2009, and then got elected the African Judo Union first as communications director and later as the general secretary, a position she still holds.

“While I will need to report to the IJF president and secretary general, and have meetings with the rest of the executive committee I will still be based in Botswana not at the IJF headquarters,” Pidgeon said.

She said judo continued to develop in Botswana, with about four athletes on the international circuit, a team going to the African Games Region 5 and a youth team preparing to compete at the Youth Olympic Games in Senegal.

“The IJF is due to construct a training academy at Dukwi and we are also looking at spreading judo to schools through the assistance of the IJF, so we could spread the sport to Maun, Selebi Phikwe, Kasane and branch out more not just to be based in Gaborone,” Pidgeon said.

She said judo as a sport was known for fostering discipline and taught focus and respect and its expansion in the country would benefit school going children. ENDS