Thankyou to all who responded to the initial thread.
To Naukaut: The proposed National
Championship will be open to all current AFBJJ
affiliates. This is the same situation which currently
applies for the Pan Pacs and the Victorian State
Titles.
To Wookie: competitors in a national format
competition will essentially be representing their
respective clubs, however improved comraderie
between competitors who originate from the same
state may be a further benefit of the proposed
tournament.
The AFBJJ is the Australian arm of the International
Federation of Brasilian Jiu Jitsu. It is not a profit
making organisation, but rather exists to promote
and coordinate Jiu Jitsu tournaments in line with
International Federation guidelines. It also
attempts to preserve the authentic style of Brasilian
Jiu Jitsu that was founded in, and continues to be
practiced in Brazil.
The AFBJJ could not exist without the generous
sponsorship, and the tireless work of volunteers to
referee and staff various tournaments.
The AFBJJ has a management committee which
regularly meets to discuss relevant issues.It
operates under government legislation. Please
address any questions or concerns in terms of the
internal workings of the Federation directly to
AFBJJ President Peter de Been.
Both the Mundial and the Pan Ams have
experienced record numbers of entrants in recent
years, and Australia too is a fledgling Jiu Jitsu
nation. The creation of a properly organised
National Jiu Jitsu Championship will hopefully
continue to make Australia an even more
competitive force on the International stage.
Regards
Chris Doyle
(AFBJJ media-coordinator)
Is this the same Nationals held on the 13-6-04 in Sydney NSW .
If not why not ??
Chris,
That's all great, and I don't doubt your word, but if you want your organisation to grow and to maximise the expansion ofn the sport, you need to be more transperent and also to include people like Elvis, Paulo and the many other significant contributors to BJJ in Australia.
At the moment, as far as I can tell, all of the committee members are from Peter's school (please correct me if I am wrong). I have no doubt that you all work hard and you are doing a good job with the tournaments that you run, but it is not a very inclusive way to run an organisation.
If you want your organisation to be the governing body of the sport in the future, rather than one of a number, you need an elected board, to allow for the inclusion of representatives of other significant schools, and if you wish to put it forward as a not for profit organisation, you should make the annual report available to members. If you don't do these things, then you are limiting the scope for growth of both your organisation and BJJ as a whole.
Drizzt44,
The only clue as to AFBJJ's legal status is the word "Inc." at the end of its name. If it is in fact an incorporated association in Victoria, then by law the following must occur:
1. Elections that follow certain criteria.
2. The annual report (and all other documents of the organization) must be available to be read by any member.
3. No member may have assets of the organization distributed to it (ie no profit may be made).
4. etc.
I do notice that AFBJJ does not publish any of the important documents - its constitution, treasury documents, meeting minutes, etc. It is typical for an incorporated association to publish these things.
I also notice that in the membership pack it asks you to agree to "rules and regulations" without giving you a chance to find out what they are.
This is exactly what I was saying in the other thread, but it was conveniently forgottenin order to bitch about other matters.
You are the "media coordinator" Chris, get us an "official statement", from the powers that be.
Dave.
ttt for answers..