The Gracie Barra Compnet Nationals was a complete success this Saturday, at the Northwood Highschool, in Irvine.
The GB community gathered for a whole day of competition, but mainly of cammaraderie and sportmanship.
Kids, teens, young adults, adults, masters and seniors, men and women, gave their all on the mats and helped creating a wonderful atmosphere.
The bleachers were always full, with excited parents, family and friends.
After each and every match, both athletes had their arms raised by the referee, symbolizing that it was impossible to realy loose today, even when you were defeated.
All the kids got medals and they were almost the same, with only an inscription in the back stating the final ranking of the athlete.
The reason for all that was simple, as Professor Marcio Feitosa said: “It’s ground work. We are planting the seed of a great future for Gracie Barra and for Jiu-Jitsu irtself!”
That ground work came from everywhere, as schools from all over the USA took part in the event.
That also brought a great deal of diversity, as the mats had people that looked a lot different from each other but shared the same love for the gentlee art
As the day went by, the kids gave way to pre-teens, teens, young adults and adults.
The “pro division” awarded the purple and brown belt champions with $250 in the adult category.
Feitosa summed the feeling of the day in the end: “Thanks to all staff, instructors, competitors, friends and family who were in the GB Compnet Tournament today with a goal not to promote individuals, but to promote skill development, sportsmanship, team play and love of the sport. Together we are creating a challenging, engaging, and learning environment where we learn from each other and lift each others up. There was no losing in that venue today. You either won or you learned.”
Get the complete result at gbcompnet.com.
Here is a exclusive photo gallery of this Saturday’s thrills.
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The post GB Compnet Nationals: Great images from a day of Jiu-Jitsu for everyone first appeared on Graciemag.