March 21, 2016, by Laura Estrop

11 medals for UoN at the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu University league

By Catherine Bastin

On Saturday 12 March, the University of Nottingham held the long anticipated, first annual Brazilian Jiu Jitsu UKBJJA University league. The day was a huge success, with 24 different Universities taking part, 80 competitors and 350 fights, there was plenty of action throughout the day. 12 students from the University of Nottingham Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team took part; coming fourth overall with only a couple of points between fourth and second, an amazing result considering half the team had never competed before and many of the other teams get significantly more training time.

The day ran smoothly with the help of a team of fantastic volunteers and friendly referees and of course our sponsors with all their cool gear. This lead to a very professional looking competition made even better by having great looking medals and prizes for the winners. All of this ensured the competitors and spectators had the best possible time at the event.

We won 11 medals and a special mention must go to our medallists:

• Tim Carden purple belt, gold in absolute Gi*, silver in absolute no Gi and bronze in no Gi under94kg
• Jack Turner blue belt under 85kg, gold in Gi
• Harry Maynard blue belt under 69, silver in Gi and no Gi
• Mark Dawson white belt under 77kg, silver in Gi
• Emma Bastin white belt under 62kg, Gold in no Gi, Silver in no Gi absolute and bronze in Gi
• Victoria Foster white belt under 62kg, bronze in no Gi absolute

*Gi -is the name given to the ‘outfit’ they wear on the mat to compete on.

Overall, it was a brilliant experience and a good opportunity to fight and watch people from different clubs. I would say that we all learnt a lot from the experience. Hopefully next year we will attract more universities and more competitors to allow for an even more diverse range of fights. Everyone involved had an incredible time and we are already looking forward to next year!

If you would like to find out more or take part in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu then click here.   

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