2017 ADWPJJC: Who's in, What's New This Year in Abu Dhabi
The 2017 Abi Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship kicks off in 12 days, on April 18. Once again being held at the state of the art IPIC Arena, in Abu Dhabi, the tournament will offer 3 million Dirhams in prizes (over US$780,000). Here’s what’s new this year in the event organized by the UAEJJF.
Two weeks of Jiu-Jitsu
The 2017 ADWPJJC is in fact the high point in a two-week Jiu-Jitsu marathon in Abu Dhabi. The action kicks off with the World Jiu-Jitsu Festival, on April 10-15. The Festival will feature kids, teens, adults and masters divisions. Athletes from all over the world will compete before the main event.
Exclusive event for Para-athletes
The UAEJJF is taking a huge step to recognize the effort and value of special needs athletes. On April 14, the World Para-Jitsu Festival will feature competitors from all over the planet. More than 50 athletes are already registered to compete.
No Open class for black belts
The UAEJJF is decided to give equal value to all weight divisions and one of the actions the Federation is taking is to not having open class divisions for the black belt. The 2017 ADWPJJC will be the first one under the new guidelines.
Two stage brackets
Possibly the most important change in the way the event will run, the bracket design for the adult and master 1 black belt and brown belt divisions will obey a two-stage system. The best athletes of each country in the UAEJJF ranking will make directly to the main bracket. All other athletes will compete in a qualifier bracket to determine the other representative of each country. In the blue belt, purple belt and master 2 divisions there will be no country limitation on the brackets. Click here for the full explanation of how the brackets will work.
Country x Country
The 2017 ADWPJJC will probably feature no final match in any division between athletes of the same country. The UAEJJF will design the brackets to make sure athletes of the same nationality fight before the final of each division.
Who’s in
Leandro Lo, Gabriel Arges, Edwin Najmi, Jose Junior, Gustavo Elias, Hiago George, Michael Musumeci, Gianni Grippo, Isaque Paiva, Isaac Doederlein, Isaque Bahiense, Nathan Mendelsohn, Talita Alencar, Bia Mesquita, Luiza Monteiro, Rikako Yuasa, Mackenzie Dern, Vanessa English, Tammi Musumeci are some of the big names already in the mix. the registration deadline is April 12. Click here for mor info.