Loveth Howell national Open Judo Championship will kick-off at the Ogbe Stadium, Benin, Edo State from the 13th of December 2017 with bouts in the Senior, Junior and Cadet Categories for Males and Females.

The Championship named after Loveth Howell, a former National Champion will serve as a National Ranking event for both Judoka and Referees. The former Champion who represented Nigeria at several International meets before retiring and moving to the United States. She is currently the Philanthropist on the Board of the Nigeria Judo Federation.

However, Prince Timothy Nsirim, President, Nigeria Judo Federation (NJF) has promised that the current board will reorganize the sport in line with the International best practice module. Prince Nsirim averred that the last forty five years have not been good for Judo, but promised that Judo will take a new turn in the coming years.

The President also described Winnie Gofit as the shining light of Nigeria Judo after she bagged a Gold Medal in the 70kg female category at a recent African Judo Invitational. “Gofit has been consistent in the last two years or thereabout and she has done us proud every time she steps on the mat. She is the shining light of Nigerian Judo and we hope she will be an inspiration to the younger generation of judokas”.

Winnie Gofit of the Nigeria Army had earlier in the year represented Nigeria at the World Judo Championships at Budapest, Hungary before winning Gold at the Africa Judo Open in Senegal. She is currently ranked 79th Worldwide in her weight category for women.