CompNet Regionals Highlights

What an exciting month it has been for the CompNet Global League! The first-ever Regionals are complete, and they were extremely successful. We are thrilled to see so many Gracie Barra members nurturing their competitive spirit. We want to share some insights from event coordinators, inspiration from competitors and coaches, and highlight some of the high-level Jiu-Jitsu displayed.

Eastern & western canada

Professor Nick Castiglia organized the first of the Regional Events in Ottawa. Professor Nick has run many competition events in eastern Canada since 2008. When asked about his experience running this event, he responded, "What is unique about the CompNet organization is the support I received was unlike anything I have ever seen had in past events. And despite my experience, I picked up so many lessons because of the planning and organization of this event."

The Eastern Regionals blew away any expectations Professor Nick had for the event. The event's demographics were impressive, with 297 participants from 13 different schools. Participants were starting at Little Champs 1 up to a 54-year-old black belt.  

When asked what he learned and was most proud of, he stated, "My success was my failure. I did not anticipate the amount of people that came. I have to find a new venue for my next event because I outgrew my venue." He agreed this is a fantastic problem to have. He said the room was jammed all day, reaching approximately 400 spectators before the end of the event.

Professor Nick believes wholeheartedly in the benefits of competing in the CompNet Global League. He said, "I believe CompNet is at a level equal to any other local tournament, without the same level of stress and intimidation." He further commented that because CompNet reflects GB values, it is key to the continued development of our students because it shows the students they are part of a bigger family.

Two weeks later, on the opposite coast of Canada, there was another successful Regionals in Langley Township, BC. Professor Rodrigo Carvalho was the organizer and counted the tournament success with approximately 280 participants from 13 different schools in the region. One hope Professor Rodrigo has for future events is that he would love to see even more schools in the region send representatives to the competition.

Professor Rodrigo had a great team behind him for the event. One of his team members, who helps to run the event and competes and coaches matches, commented on how he felt during the day, "As an athlete and coach, you spend your day on a roller coaster of emotions. Every person that steps on the mats is a winner. You have someone testing you and having the courage to do something you haven't done."

It is always inspiring to see the LC1 competitors try their hand at the techniques they work so hard to learn against unknown opponents. And watching the coaches display their high-level Jiu-Jitsu is, in turn, inspiring for the kids to see. A crowd favorite in this region was the Black/Brown combined bracket displaying their competitive spirit. [Click here to see a highlight video]

Western regionals in arizona, USA

Next in line was the Western Regionals held in Phoenix, AZ. As expected, due to the size of the Jiu-Jitsu market in the region, this had the largest attendance of all of the Regional Championships. There were a total of 547 registered participants from 26 different school locations. This is an exciting dream to come to reality. Although most competitors were from within the hosting state, students came from all over the region to compete. This is the hope for all regional events and a goal we aspire to for all future regional events.

As with all regions, there were some fantastic matches. To highlight one from this event, Professors Johnathan Rodrigues and Russel White displayed some amazing Jiu-Jitsu during their fight. It was referred to as a chess match! Professor Russel from New Mexico sat for an interview with GB before and after his match. He talked about why he wanted to compete at regionals, 

"I wanted to come out and get some experience in the regionals. I wanted to continue to develop my skills, see what I needed to continue to work on, see what's working and what's not." 

When the match ended, he was asked about his experience; he stated, "The match did not turn out the way I wanted it to. But I had fun and I got to practice some skills I have been working on, some defensive things I have been working on, and those went well." When asked what his favorite part of the match was, he responded, "After the match, when all the kids I coach came up to me and said 'Great job Professor.'" Accolades from your students can sometimes be the most rewarding.

And after the event, we got some amazing feedback from parents that sent their kids to nurture their competitive spirit:

One parent said: "A really good experience for my son's first tournament. He is eager to compete again!"

While another shared: "It was a great learning experience."

eastern regionals in florida, usa

Last up was the Eastern Regionals in Orlando, FL., where we saw 306 competitors representing 25 different schools in the region. Something unique about this area is the high number of senior black belts that live in the region. As a result, we got to see some exciting matches between some of these professors. In the absolute adult division, Professor Flavio Almedia and Professor Matheus Romero have some pretty epic scrambles that was decided on points. 

Then there were two matches between Professor Alexandre "Café" Dantes and Professor Marcelo Fox. One was in their division and then again in the absolute division. The Jiu-Jitsu was high paced, exciting, and both matches ended in submission. 

 Another aspect to note is the substantial growth we are witnessing in this region. As an illustration of the growth we are predicting, while our team was there in Florida, 10+ conversations occurred regarding opening schools in new areas in the region. This would be huge, and we would be thrilled if all of these came to fruition. More schools mean more lives changed through Jiu-Jitsu.

Overall, we consider this first set of regionals a considerable success. We are moving forward with the lessons we have learned with a Jiu-Jitsu mindset. We saw approximately ⅓ of the competitors be adults, while ⅔ of the competitors were kids and juveniles across all regions. All regions also showed competitors as young as the LC1 white belts all the way up to Adult and/or Master level black belts. We are pleased and inspired to see so many Gracie Barra members embracing the new CompNet Global League and look forward to future events when more students feel inspired to nurture their competitive spirit.

Most details of the events went as planned. We had a ton of positive feedback from those that participated. However, as any good Jiu-Jitsu practitioner will do after a competition, you must look to the lessons learned and where we can be better prepared for the next competition. Whether that means finding yourself a bigger venue, improving communication with vendors, or figuring out how to inspire more participation from schools that are not yet sending students to compete. We always are seeking growth from the lessons from the mats!

Looking forward to seeing more of you in future CompNet events. To participate in a CompNet tournament near you, visit CompNet.link/global and create your competitor profile today!