Before I go to bed and sleep this weekend off, I just wanted to give props to everyone involved with the Ontario Open, from the Competitors, Referees, Coaches, Medics, Volunteers,and the two promoters Fernando Zulick and Justin Bruckmann.All the events in 2009 have been outstanding compared to years past,and for a first time event ,the volunteers picked up what they needed to know quite fast and made the event run well.<br /><br />I would also like to thank Jorge Britto and Josh Rapport(Toronto BJJ) for sticking their neck out by running a Pre-Registration ONLY tournament back in April, something other promoters(including myself) were afraid to do ,and showed us we can do this in Ontario.From seeing the Copa Ontario unfold has made the transition to pre-registrtion easy for the Ontario Open and will be done for BJJ events from here on out.<br /><br />The GI division once again out done no-gi 2 to 1 in numbers at this event, BJJ is doing fine here.<br /><br />And lastly, it is nice to see the event promoters work together to make ones event run well.Next event is the Toronto Jiu Jitsu Classic, I will be at Jorges mercy to do whatever he needs me to do.....be nice bro..lol
Again Fernando your event was another great step for BJJ in Ontario, was happy to be a part of it..
Tony
Great tournament!!
Agreed, I enjoyed it. Good job everyone!
Nice tournament--good tournout and was pretty organized.
I had a big problem with the way some of the coaches (well one in particular really) influenced the reffing. Either get some refs with balls or coaches need to be off the mats and not allowed to speak/yell/consistently cry to the referees. It becomes a real problem when referees make calls and then backtrack on those call due to said crying.
If the referees continue with mistakes this coach should continue speak/yell and cry.
Probably the coach you had a big problem is the most qualified to speak about bjj rules than any other in the competition yesterday.
Thank You to Fernando & Co. for running an excellent event. I felt that the competition was a little stiffer at this tourney (which is a good thing) and to have 5 Brown belts compete was awesome. It's tough enough to get Purples out there.
The Good:
I liked the mat area, and having the warm-up area on the side was great.
*The tournament started very close to the scheduled time (which is awesome)and ran constantly without interruption.
*The referee's were fair in general. I hate to critique any ref because it's such a tough job. They get flack from Competitors,coaches and spectators all the time.
*The on-line registration was top notch. You could even scope out the competition by having a competitors list. Well done.
*Fernando and staff kept the people moving, constantly ushering them out of th fighter areas. This is tough to maintian, but they did an admirable job.
$5 entrance fee for spectators. You can't beat that deal.
The Bad:
*The venue was a little small. The stands were packed, thus most of our team had to stand on the sidelines.
*Toward the end, there were still some large divisions 30+ competitors operating on one mat. They could have been split up and ran on one of the open mats. That said, I know that it's a logistical nightmare keeping things organized when you spilt the division.
Overall I really enjoy the new tournament format. Props to Fernando and all others involved.
Also congrats to Paul Stark for taking the Brown Belt absolute Gi Division. He fought a very tough opponent in the final that had a really sick loop choke. Good job avoiding that and finishing with the Achillies lock.
Congrats, everybody, and way to go Fernando.
Great to hear about Paul, and very well deserved! He's one of the nicest monsters I've met so far. :)
Thank you also Fernando and company!!!
This tournament was very well run and the pre-registration was great. The reffing was as good as I have seen in Canada and considering that these guys are all volunteers, props to them.
We as a team had a great time and will definitely be back to support more TO tournaments.
(I agree with you KyokunshinandBJJ though, the venue was a little small but that is a sign of a successful tournament and I hope they will continually run into this problem!!!)
Thank you again to Fernando and company,
Peter Tremblay
P.S. Also props to all the blue belt women for showing up and giving this tournament a solid women’s division and for Mike at 16 years old and competing in the men’s blue belt division and getting silver in both gi and nogi!!
P.P.S. Thank you also for everyone who showed up! I found everybody to be warm and welcoming. Sure you will have a couple of people get under your skin but that happens every time you get a group of people together. (Heck, come to one of my family re-unions! –Smiling!)
It was a good tourny for sure. Pre Registration only is the way to go. Congrats to Paul Stark hes the man!
I forgot to thank the Sponsors.........
FIGHT PLANET
POUND 4 POUND
TORAKI
CANFIGHT
SINFUL INFLICTIONS
CUSTOM PRINTING
before I get a phone call from BALEIA .... lol
bjjfighter19, dont thank the sponsors in fear of a phone call, thank them cause they support the sport and it's the right thing to do!
in regards to the event, amazing job by Fernando and his crew. No tournament is perfect. I have been to every major BJJ competition and have seen with my own eyes referees make horrible mistakes (at the mundials) but no referee is perfect. They are volunterring and have to deal with so much crap from everyone and are only human.
God can come from Heaven and bless the tournament and make a miracle happen and make the tournament run without a hitch, but the devil will be there to have something bad to say!
As far as the pre-registration, I have been saying it for years that it is the way to go.
As I said a year ago, BJJ in Ontario will be completely different than what is used to be. More competitions, more organization and more competitors. This competition had HUGE numbers!
Way to GO
For more info on upcoming BJJ competitions in Ontario visit
www.ontariobjj.com
Also you should change the title of this thread to "Another Great BJJ tournament" not to be confused with the other Juijitsu
Honestly, I need to thanks Justin for co-hosting this event with me, Omar and Tony for the support. I worked on their tournament as it was mine, and they did the same for me, they worked hard with the same dedication they do at the tournaments they host.
Thanks the competitors and spectators for supporting, I promise you will see a different gym next year, much bigger, with more warm up area, more space to the spectators, barricades will be far from the mats.
Thanks all the sponsors, for giving away a bunch of products, t-shirts, shorts, gift cards.
Thanks Ishi Gogyou Martial Arts, Alpha MMA and Bruckmann Martial Arts for bringing exactly the same number of kids, I should break the trophy in 3 equal parts.
Thanks to Team Ascension from bringing an army and taking both trophies home the first one for bringing more competitors and the second for scoring more points in both days.
Thanks to Fabio Holanda (BTT) for bringing the team. My condolences for Fabio’s family, and thank you very much Fabio Holanda for attending the tournament even after losing a parent and landing back in Canada the day before the tournament.
Thanks to Republic BJJ in Newfoundland for sending some guys. Thanks to Alex Roque from BJJ Fight Club in Calgary. Thanks to Detroit BJJ.
Thanks to all the other academies, I tried to give all of you the best no matter how many competitors you brought.
Thanks to all the volunteers that worked hard for 2 days, some of them worked, competed and went back to work, all the Referees for the good job, it is hard to take a decision in one second.
I am probably forgetting to mention a bunch of guys here. Thank you everyone, we look forward now to the next event, Toronto Jiu Jitsu Classic.
Fernando
really enjoyed the tournament, great job guys!
Alex Roque
Thanks to Fernando and everyone else who helped put on a successful tournament.
We had a blast and will definately be back for another Toronto tournament.
It was nice to see all the female competitors out this past weekend. They definately put up a good fight. Let's see if we can double the amount of female competitors next time.
Lisa
Alpha MMA
Thanks guys. This was probably the most significant tournament win of my career; in all the tournaments I've been to I've never even seen a brown belt division run before. I've been trying to do it for a long time now, but I feel like I've finally proven that Kumo Jiu Jitsu belongs in the same league as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It hasn't been easy to do, but I think that job is done now.
With my primary goal accomplished I am now looking forward to cross training with all of my BJJ friends. I've wanted to train with a lot of people for a long time, but I had to prove that KJJ could make it to the big podium on its own legs.
Congrats Starky!!!
So proud of you! Cant wait to see the footage =)
JKennedy - I heard there was an awesome flying triangle sub!
A student of mine (Alex) from the Dominican Republic pulled of a completely obnoxious flying armbar in the white belt heavyweight division too. These kids nowadays, did nobody tell them this sport was supposed to be difficult?
Props on what by all accounts was an excellent tournament!
TTT once more for Fernando and a well run tournament!!
Mr. Starks,
Congrats on your accomplishments! Well done!!
I was at the tournament and got to watch you fight your final match against a purple belt that was only 1/4 of your size.....he must of only weighted 140lbs. You had great hip movements and control!
As Loyto Machida says "Karate's Back"
Frank Lauzon