Dear Gracie Barra family,
First we need to send a huge THANK YOU to all of you. Without all of YOU, the Gracie Barra Competition network and these tournaments do not exist. From the competitors, to the professors, the volunteers, our spectators and our sponsors, we all strived to be our absolute best on this one day. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to build the stage for aspiring athletes of all ages to grow and flourish. Along with these competitors come their supporters. Your energy invigorates the arena, and electrifies the air. To sit back and feel the power of over 1000 spectators cheering is like a powerful wave flowing over your body. You guys really brought it this weekend! Thank you!
Secondly we need to recognize the people who facilitate this sport and give us the tools we need to be able to compete, and live this blessed lifestyle. To all of our schools, professors, and especially Master Carlos Gracie Jr., your sacrifice is evident, and appreciated. On behalf of everyone who stepped onto the mats to compete, or into the arena to cheer, or just have a school to call home we are indebted. Without YOU Gracie Barra and its legacy does not exist. We humbly THANK all of you for your support and committed effort. Thank You!
Last but not least we thank our volunteers. We may not have everything figured out yet, but the improvement was evident. For many of you it was the first time you were asked to perform in a certain position, and your determination and commitment were invaluable to the success of our tournament. We know that with growth and progression come growing pains. Thanks for sticking it out and working your way through the tough times. We think you all did wonderfully! Thank You.
We hope you enjoyed our time together this weekend. Many things were good. Unfortunately a few were bad as well. We want you to know that we recognize that our current system is flawed. We had a ton of problems with the kids portion of our tournament, and we are trying our best correct these problems for the next tournament. Please know that your feedback is valued. We read every email and correspondence with a receptive ear. Please free to contact us, and we will try our best to make things right. We will positively use your information, because this network is all about you. It’s all about the GB family and the development of a forum to better ourselves. We are trying to build a forum to share our love of this sport, this lifestyle, and our Jiu jitsu family. Our competition network is this forum; tell us how to make it the best it can be.
On a larger scale, GBCN continues to spread good will to those less fortunate through the power of Jiu jitsu. We are proud to say this tournament helped raise another $307 toward the SOS Children Charity fund. To give back to the youth is bigger than, this tournament, this network, and even Gracie Barra. GBCN members made this small but powerful piece a reality.
Also our bracketing software was a huge success, and it gave us the ability to post real time bracketing and a results page in a matter of days. Please check the results link to view results of this past weekend’s tournament. Podium pictures will be up shortly, as well as an all new winners page. We will update the So Cal Classic data as well so that all podium medalists will be kept on our site forever.
Additional pictures and videos will take a bit longer, but over the next couple of weeks be sure to check back for all the latest updates.
Once again…. Thanks to all for another great GBCN tournament!!!!!
