How does the judo mixed team event work?
A · Advanced · Competition, judogi and the mat · 3 of 4A mixed team is three women and three men, one in each of six weight categories. Two teams fight a match of six contests, and the first to win a majority takes the match. If it finishes level, one category is drawn at random and its two athletes fight a golden score contest.
How it works
| Women | Men |
|---|---|
| -57 kg | -73 kg |
| -70 kg | -90 kg |
| +70 kg | +90 kg |
- A team may also have up to six reserves, with at most two athletes entered in each category.
- An athlete may fight in their own team category or the next one up. Cadets must stay in their own.
- A team must have at least four athletes to compete.
- Each contest is four minutes, as in the individual event.
- The order of the six contests starts from a category drawn before the first round and moves on one place each round.
- Winning the match: the first team to win a majority of the contests. At IJF events the remaining contests are then not fought.
- An empty category: if a team has nobody in a category, the other team is given that contest.
- Level on wins: a computer draw picks one category, and those two athletes fight a golden score contest to decide the match.
- The competition is a knockout with a quarter-final repechage, as in the individual event.
- Two coaches and one doctor may accompany the team.
Tricky cases
A match ends three contests each. How is it decided?
One of the six categories is drawn by computer, and the two athletes in it fight again in golden score. The winner's team takes the match.
Can a team fight with only five athletes?
Yes. A team needs a minimum of four. The contest in the empty category goes to the other team.
Can a lightweight step in at a heavier category?
It depends on the gap. An athlete may fight in their own team category or the next higher one.
Why the rule exists
A team event built from both sexes and a spread of weights tests the depth of a country's judo, not one champion. The drawn golden score contest settles a tie on the mat.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| IJF senior and junior mixed teams | As above | SOR 2.2.2; SOR 2.7.1 |
| Cadet mixed teams | Categories of -48, -63 and +63 kg for women and -60, -81 and +81 kg for men | SOR 2.2.2 |
| Men's and women's team events | Five categories each | SOR 2.2.4 |
From the rule book
International Judo Federation Sport and Organisation Rules, Sections 2.2.2, 2.2.4 and 2.7. Version of 24 July 2026. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: IJF Sport and Organisation Rules (PDF).