Just a reminder to all those planning on attending that the Ontario Grappling Grand Prix 2007 season will officially begin this Saturday January 27th at the ASCENSION JIU-JITSU OPEN (first qualifier), to be held at Pope John Paul II Catholic High School in Scarborough (685 Military Trail, off Morningside Avenue, just south of the 401).
Competitors have the option to pre-register on Friday, January 26th between 5-8pm at Salvosa BJJ Ascension (31 Progress Avenue, Unit 19--off Kennedy Road, just south of the 401). Pre-registrants will bypass all lineups and proceed directly to weigh-ins on tournament day, allowed maximum 4 lbs over weight limit.
This year's event will feature single elimination matches (for better time management), 6 fighting areas and divisions for children (7-11), youth (12-15), Juniors (16-17) and adults. The newly-added Juniors divisions will be part of this year's Grand Prix (all three events and finals).
We will also be holding ABSOLUTE championships in both the Gi and No-Gi divisions.
Event sponsored by FIGHT PLANET--Rick Ammendolia of will have a clothing/gear table at the event.
GOOD LUCK to all competitors and THANK YOU to everyone that has shown support.... We look forward to welcoming you there with food & good vibes on Saturday!
Weigh-ins:
8:00am to 9:00am - children (7-11) and youth (12-15);
8:00am to 9:30am - juniors (16-17) and adults NO-GI;
8:00am to 12:00pm - juniors (16-17) and adults GI.
9:30am - children & youth divisions start;
10:00am - rules clinic;
10:30am - junior & adult NO-GI divisions start
- absolute NO-GI championship open to all 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners in intermediate & advanced divisions
2:00pm - junior & adult GI divisions start
absolute GI championship open to all 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners in intermediate & advanced divisions
for both GI & NO-GI events, we will commence with the advanced divisions first wherever possible.
We're doing everything we can to put together a quality, memorable event this year. Single elimination matches and more fighting areas will help tremendously in speeding up the course of the day's events (relative to the turnout, of course). No-gi divisions first, since we tend to have more competitors that compete in only NO-GI.
Toughest part is getting more community involvement where refereeing is concerned, but one of my primary goals for this year's edition of the Grand Prix events is to reach a more professional standard in officiating--it's a process that everyone will need to be more patient with, but the faster people step up to receive proper training and education, the higher the standard we can attain. I will be holding a meeting for all referees prior to the rules clinic (9:30am), so if anyone out there with experience is interested, please let me know. We will be paying referees based on time worked.
Thank you again to everyone that has shown support. I beleive that we can bring the level of competition here in Ontario to new heights--we just have to work at it together as a community. Good luck to all and see you there!!!
Sorry, we are only able to take pre-registrations directly at the dojo at this point due to the need for weigh-ins. The only alternative is to register on the day of the tournament.