GSW @ the Auckland BJJ open
A group of GSW students made the trip to Auckland for the Douglas Santos 10th BJJ Open. This time was slightly different with several of the Auckland resident Brazilians banding together and forming a BJJ Federation for New Zealand. The result was that there were a few more people from outside to help Douglas run the day.
We were told to turn up at 9.30am for weigh in and a start time of 10am. The day finally got under way at 10.40 after a few teething problems but ran smoothly for the day. Although with 150 competitors it was always going to be a very long day. The mats were extremely small, the rules were very vague and the reffing had it’s usual ups and downs.
All in all it was a pretty good day and a slight improvement on the previous round. There are still issues with the Brazilians vs the rest mentality and the way they formulate and run the draws leaves a lot to be desired. But the GSW crew went up for the experience and to have a shot. Most of the GSW crew were competing for the very first time and everyone conducted themselves extremely well.
In the team were: Blue Belts: Cain Harland, Scott Lyons, Adan Tijerina
Michael Hourigan competed under his new team from Auckland but he will always e one of our brothers and we can take pride in his gold medal in his division.
Also competing for GSW were: Patrick Te Tau, Thomas Ockens, Brad Hendra, Dan Ruck, Cam Macgregor, David White, Fiso Siloata and Brad Kora.
Results each in their respective weight class:
Cain Harland: 2nd
Scotty Lyons 3rd
Cam Macgregor: 1st
Brad Kora: 1st
Brad Hendra: 2nd
Thomas Ockens: 3rd
Well done to all the crew for your efforts on the day. Special thanks Lee Warden for the transport and to the boys for helping with the videoing and coaching.
For videos check here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25573780@N02/
for Photos check here: http://nz.youtube.com/user/BJJNZ
