Judo age categories decide who you fight, for how long and which techniques you may use. At international level, the IJF uses four groups: cadets, juniors, seniors and veterans. Below the cadets, each national federation sets its own youth categories, with its own names and limits. In almost every system the category depends on your year of birth, not your birthday.
Because the birth years shift every season, a fixed table here would be wrong next year. This page explains the principle and what changes from one group to the next.
Birth year, not birthday
In judo, your age for competition is usually the age you reach during the calendar year. Two children born in January and December of the same year are in the same category, even though almost a year separates them.
That has a real effect. The younger child can be at a clear physical disadvantage at the start of a category, especially between about 10 and 14. Parents disappointed after a first tournament often forget this.
Each season, the federation publishes the birth years that match each category. That table is the only reliable source. Your club will have it.
The IJF age categories
These are the groups used at international level. National events often follow them for older athletes.
| Category | Age in the year of competition | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cadets | 15 to 17 | Own World and continental championships, some technique limits |
| Juniors | Up to 20 | Senior rules, transition to the senior circuit |
| Seniors | Adults | The reference category, World Tour and Olympics |
| Veterans | 30 and over | Five-year age bands |
Entry conditions for a specific event can be stricter. Always read the event rules.
Cadets
Cadets fight a judo close to the adult game, with national championships and an international circuit of their own. The IJF keeps some restrictions for this group, covered further down. It is often the first time young athletes deal with selections, weight management and travel.
Juniors
Juniors fight under senior rules. The category exists so that young athletes can compete against their own generation while they build towards the senior level. Many juniors also enter senior events when the rules of the event allow it.
Seniors
The senior category is the reference, the one used on the IJF World Tour and at the Olympics. Weight categories, match length and scoring are the standard ones described in our guide to judo rules.
Veterans
Veterans start at 30. They have their own competitions, up to world championships, split into five-year bands so that a 31-year-old does not face a 55-year-old. Many adults come back to competition through veterans judo after years away. Others start judo as adults, a path covered in our article on judo for adult beginners.
Youth categories vary by federation
Below the cadets, there is no single international system. Each national federation names and groups its youth categories in its own way. Some use traditional names, others simply use "under 12" or "under 14". A category may cover one, two or three birth years.
What stays fairly constant is the progression. The youngest children play judo more than they compete, in short, friendly events, often without strict rankings. Organized competitions with pools, draws and weight classes usually come a bit later. Then the stakes and the match length rise step by step. If you are wondering when to start, see our article on the right age to start judo.
Ask your club or federation for the current table. Do not rely on a chart found online for another country.
What changes from one age group to the next
Three things change with age: match length, weight categories and permitted techniques.
Match length rises gradually up to the four minutes of seniors. Weight categories change too, with grids specific to each age group, shown in our guide to judo weight categories.
On techniques, most federations do not allow armlocks or strangles for young children. These come in gradually, at ages set by each federation. For cadets, the IJF also gives a shido for using the head to throw or defend, and for a reverse seoi-nage, actions that are allowed for juniors and seniors. The full list is in our article on illegal techniques in judo.
What age categories do not tell you
Age category has nothing to do with belt. Two children of the same age can have very different grades and still meet in the same pool. Grading follows its own logic, explained in our page on judo belt colors.
It says nothing about level either. Some organizers run pools by level, but that is far from standard in youth events.
Advice for parents
Do not judge a child's progress on results in the first year of a category. The youngest of the age group often loses to bigger opponents, then catches up the next year. Look instead at whether the child attacks, falls well and wants to come back. Before the cadet years, those are the indicators that count.