The IBJJF is now starting to respond to the recent Coronavirus pandemic by cancelling the upcoming Pan Ams, sadly delaying Rafael Lovato Jr’s return to competitive BJJ. The news comes shortly after the IBJJF announced that they would be suspending registration for the Masters International Europe Tournament in Barcelona as a result of Coronavirus fears as well. This is the first major tournament to be scrapped as a result of the virus, although the UAEJJF responded rather quickly to the threat by postponing all events indefinitely.
This is a sign that the US and Europe might be following in the footsteps of Asia, the source of the Coronavirus outbreak. ADCC Mongolia was cancelled months ago, almost immediately after the virus started to gain a foothold in the country. While this is sad news for any competitors, it’s understandable from a public health perspective to try and mitigate any risks for contamination and a grappling event with hundreds of competitors is a pretty huge risk.
The IBJJF statement on the cancellation of the Pan Ams is below:
“In an effort to prevent further spreading of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), The University of California, Irvine has canceled all events with more than 100 participants. Unfortunately, because of this, we are unable to hold the 2020 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship as currently scheduled. We will be refunding every registered athlete while we continue to work with UCI officials on the possibility of holding the event at a later date. Please stay tuned for further updates.”
“All registered athletes will be automatically refunded.”
We were fortunate enough to get an insider’s perspective on what it’s like to be training in the midst of the Coronavirus outbreak, click here to find out more.
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