Yverdon: new dojo ready for the best judokas

“Judo is an individual sport, but this dojo is a collective success,” rejoices Jean-Charles Gander, director of the new National Performance Center West Switzerland (CPN) in Yverdon. Inaugurated this Saturday morning on the site of the former Leclanché factories, renamed Village 48, it becomes the second national judo center after that of Brugg, in Aargau.

“This new center is the largest in Switzerland. And it’s a source of pride,” adds François Armada, Yverdon municipal official in charge of Sports. The new dojo includes a 400 m² tatami, new changing rooms spread over two levels as well as rooms reserved for treatment, theory and bodybuilding. Named “Frédéric Kyburz” in memory of the famous Swiss judoka, the dojo is able to accommodate the training of around a hundred high-level athletes.

In 2019, the spa town had been designated by the Swiss Federation of Judo and Jiu-Jitsu (FSJ) to host a second national performance center. While waiting for their new dojo, the judokas had to train in temporary premises. “The surface was divided in half and the training conditions were Spartan,” summarizes Jean-Charles Gander. Our structures were lagging behind the performances of our athletes.”

Train the French-speaking elites

François Armada underlines that Yverdon has had a close link with the national sport of the Empire of the Rising Sun for a long time. In 2013 and 2018, the spa town hosted the finals of the Swiss team judo championship. Then, in 2023 and 2024, it was the turn of the Swiss individual championships to be played in the city. “Now, we hope to host international competitions and make Yverdon a center of sporting influence,” argues the municipal official.

Also on site, the Vaud State Councilor in charge of Sports, Christelle Luisier Brodard, praised the new dojo, the construction of which marks “an important step in the development of judo in Switzerland”. The minister also welcomed the proliferation of Vaudois judo clubs, of which there are around thirty in the canton. The opportunity to recall that it is important “that Vaudois sport does not develop only in the capital, in Lausanne”.

The mission of the Frédéric Kyburz Center is therefore clear: to develop performance sport. As the structure already houses several athletes who have participated in the Olympic Games, the objective is to win medals at major international events. “You don’t build a tool like that if you don’t have ambitions,” proclaims Jean-Charles Gander. A twenty-five year lease having been signed, “it is a long-term commitment”.

Public-private financing

The new installations cost just over 1.7 million francs. They were notably financed by grants from the Public Utility Fund of the canton of Vaud, the Vaud Sports Fund and the City of Yverdon. As the owner of the premises, the real estate company Hiag also contributed to a third of the expenses.

The center aims to become a springboard for the hopes of Swiss judo by organizing camps and courses. “It’s an exceptional tool for creating tomorrow’s champions,” enthuses former judoka Sergei Aschwanden, president of the Swiss Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Federation.

For now, the future of the center is assured by the presence of young renowned judokas at the junior level, such as Aurélien Bonferroni (22 years old) or April Fohouo (19 years old). The structure can also count on Binta Ndiaye, who participated in the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. For the 20-year-old Vaudoise, this new dojo is a guarantee of professionalism: “We feel valued!”

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