IBJJF cancels 2020 Worlds due to the pandemic

Even with all the effort and planning to avoid a lost year, the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) has now made it official: There will be no 2020 BJJ World Championship. The information was published Tuesday night on social media.

The previous plan was to host the Worlds between the 14th and 20th of December, parallel to the Master Worlds (which has not been cancelled). To the federation, the travel restrictions in place due to the pandemic have made the event impossible. For the same reason, the No-Gi Worlds, which usually takes place at the end of the year, is also cancelled.

Although there are no current plans for events in Brazil, the IBJJF is continuing with a leaner-than-usual calendar of events in the U.S. Besides the Master Worlds slated to take place in Florida, the federation will be hosting the Houston open on Nov. 14 in Texas, and the No-Gi Pan on Nov. 21–22 in Georgia.

Here’s the IBJJF’s official statement:

The IBJJF regrets to inform that unfortunately, there will not be a 2020 World Adult Championship Gi & 2020 World No-Gi Championship. Due to the extreme difficulties of travel challenges, including forbidden entry into the United States faced by the organization and athletes, these events can not come to fruition.

The IBJJF will continue to work diligently to bring the competition calendar back to normal as much as possible next year and will post updates on future events accordingly.

We thank you all for the continued incredible support.