FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE See Olympic and World Champions compete here in New York! NEW YORK, January 11th, 2011 – The 2011 competition date has been announced for the New York Open Team Judo Championship: Sunday, March 6, 2011, to be held in New York City at the New York Athletic Club. Film Annex and the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) sponsor the New York Open. The invited teams to this tournament include some of the strongest players in the world, featuring Olympic and World Champions from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Ukraine, Italy, Poland, France and Puerto Rico. Film Annex, online film distribution platform and Web TV Network, acts as the media partner for this event and supports the championship with its online platform JudoArts.com, presenting professional footage from judo tournaments as well as interviews with world famous judokas, coaches, and sports administrators. “We created JudoArts.com to raise awareness for the sport of Judo and sponsor individual athletes,” says Francesco Rulli, the founder of Film Annex and a judoka himself. The company donates a portion of the advertising revenues generated on the Judo Arts website to the New York Open Judo as part of its mission to provide official sponsorships for national and international sports events. Invitational Team Judo Championship is considered to be the most exciting in the world to watch. Cheering for your favorite country is encouraged. The room will rock with energy and good-natured rivalry. Each team will consist of five athletes in the following weight divisions: 66 kg, 73 Kg, 81 Kg, 90 Kg and over 90 Kg. The winning team will receive a $2,000 prize, as well as a team trophy to bring back to their native country. "We look forward to an outstanding event as athletes from all over the world compete with their team to become a New York Open Champion,” said Tournament Director Dr. Mel Appelbaum. The event will be held at the New York Athletic Club, located at 180 Central Park South on the 6th floor gymnasium. Spectators are welcome, and tickets can be purchased for Adults for $25 and children 15 years of age or under for $15 at the door. The tournament action begins at 10 am with the finals scheduled to start around 2 pm. For more information about the New York Open Judo Championship, visit the New York Open Judo website at www.newyorkopenjudo.com. To discover original judo content, including fictionalized judo videos produced by the Film Annex team, tune into www.judoarts.com. About Film Annex Film Annex is an online film distribution platform and Web Television Network with 220,000 registered users and over 1.5 million viewers a day. The company creates free Web TV channels for content providers and supports them financially through an ad-revenue sharing model. A meeting point for filmmakers, film festivals, film enthusiasts, companies, and organizations, Film Annex educates and entertains audiences by making meaningful, diverse, and high- quality films available to a global audience. For more information, visit www.filmannex.com. About Judo Judo debuted as an official Olympic sport in 1964 and is practiced by millions of people throughout the world today. The discipline of Judo is a Japanese martial art and combat sport that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Best known for stunning throws, Judo also involves much grappling on the ground like wrestling, using controlled holds, pins and arm locks. Judo, translated as "gentle way," teaches balance, leverage and flexibility in performing throws and other skills, and helps to develop complete body control and fast reflexive action. Skill, technique and timing, rather than brute strength, are the essential ingredients for success in this sport. Worldwide, over 20 million people practice judo, with all age groups, both sexes and disabled persons all able to participate in learning and practicing in the sport. Judo develops self-discipline and respect for oneself and others, and helps teach self-confidence, concentration and leadership skills. It's no coincidence that several world leaders have also studied Judo, including Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, former Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau, former U.S. Senator of Colorado, Olympian Ben Campbell, and former President Theodore Roosevelt, as well as many celebrity judo practitioners, including director Guy Ritchie, actors Chuck Norris, James Cagney and Peter Sellers. Watching a Judo Competition After a ceremonial bow, each judo match begins with each opponent grabbing each other by collars and sleeve of the judo uniform, the judogi. The objective of the match is to score an "ippon," which wins the match – this is akin to a knockout in boxing or a pin in wrestling. Scoring an ippon can occur from a) throwing the opponent to the ground so he lands on his shoulder or back; b) pinning him to the ground on his back for a length of time; or c) subduing him in a choke, strangle hold or armlock. Any of these score ippon and win the match. Although an ippon is the objective, there are also partial points scored during the match. Points can be awarded when a variety of throws or blocks are successfully accomplished. At the end of the match, the highest quality score wins. #### CONTACT: Carrie Gray ( 516) 967-4729 publicity.judo@gmail.com Eren Gulfidan Film Annex (646) 485-8792 (ext.4) eg@filmannex.com