The numbers have finally been tallied for the Tap Cancer Out Spring BJJ Open, which took place in Stratford, CT, on April 13th, 2013, and to no one’s surprise, the tournament’s fundraisers broke all sorts of records.
The tournament attracted over 200 competitors, both male and female, from all over the New England and Tri-State area. 73 of those competitors also fundraised on behalf of Tap Cancer Out to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, generating 926 donations and ultimately fundraising over $37,500. After including registration fees, door donations and merchandise sales, the tournament was able to raise over $41,000, nearly doubling last year’s total.
Many competitors teamed up and fundraised as a school, made possible by the cool technology on our StayClassy.org fundraising platform. Four schools raised over $1,000, but the top team was Jungle Gym Martial Arts out of New Rochelle, NY. Jungle Gym raised an astounding $7,627. Our top fundraiser, with $3,460 raised, was Jeff Morris, also from Jungle Gym. They did a great job!
The day wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Our primary sponsor, Inverted Gear, provided motivation for our top fundraisers, awarding each of them with a free Gi! Dollamur Mats provided brand new Flexi-Connect Mats, perfect for the tournament setup, at a discounted price. Fight Soap set up a merchandise table and gave ALL of the day’s sales to Tap Cancer Out, as well as providing the competitors with free hand sanitizer. The Handprint Store and LapelChoke.com also contributed greatly.
Thanks again to all the competitors, sponsors, and especially the volunteers who donated their entire day to our cause.
I’ve been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for about four and a half years. I started in BJJ because I wanted to stay and shape while also competing, and my prior sport (volleyball) required too much dependence on other people. If I wanted to compete, I needed to find six guys, all with the proper skill sets, who were free on a certain day. With BJJ, I could be part of a team, but when it came time to compete, I only needed to depend on myself (and my competitors, I suppose).
In those four and a half years, I’ve competed fairly often. I haven’t competed on the largest stages—the Worlds, the Pans, etc. (I’m on the east coast)—but have done numerous NAGA, Grappler’s Quest, Good Fight tournaments as well as smaller, local tournaments. I competed at white, blue, and purple belts, gi and no-gi. I’ve weighed in night before (cutting extreme weight), morning-of, and seconds before the match. I haven’t experienced it all, but I have experienced a lot.
I’ve had a few great experiences, but more often than not some part of the tournament left a bad taste in my mouth. At one tournament, as was a white belt competing in no-gi, there were more than 30 guys in my division, as well as more than 30 in the division before mine. My wife drove two hours to watch me compete. She sat there for 5 hours—from 10:30 to 3:30pm. When she had to leave due to a prior commitment, I was still waiting for my first match. I finally drove home at around 8pm. I had lost both my gi and no-gi matches in the first round. I spent more hours sitting on the bleachers waiting than minutes on the mat competing. I questioned whether or not I wanted to compete again.
5 Reasons You’ll Enjoy the TCO BJJ Open
All of these experiences have taught me valuable lessons about running an efficient and enjoyable tournament. So when I decided to host a BJJ tournament of my own to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I vowed to create the experience and atmosphere that I would want as a competitor. Here are some of the ways I turned it into a tournament competitors would enjoy:
1. Affordable Entry Fee and Perks
Every competitor will agree—it’s expensive to compete in BJJ tournaments. Most tournaments will cost you anywhere from $80 to $120, just for ONE division. It’s just too cost prohibitive for most people. So I wanted to make our tournament affordable. At just $40 for one division and $60 for two (pre-registration only), it’s one of, if not THE, most affordable BJJ tournament around.
If you fundraise more than $200, you can compete for FREE. It only takes a single email to family and friends to raise that much ($20 from 10 people), so it’s a pretty good deal. Plus, the more you fundraise, the more perks you can earn like patches, t-shirts and rashguards. The top 4 fundraisers earn a FREE Inverted Gear gi!
2. Well Organized
There are a number of steps I wanted to take in order to ensure a smooth tournament. Last year the only major mishap was having to bracket the day-of, and we were admittedly ill-prepared. Though everything ran well after about a 40-minute delay in the morning, I couldn’t let it happen again. That’s why we’re requiring pre-registration this year. Plus, at too many tournaments overworked table-workers are double and triple tasking, trying to manage brackets while keeping score; keeping time while calling the next fighters. So we have at least two, if not three, volunteers working at the table, plus a dedicated ring coordinator who manages the brackets and gets the next fighters ready so there are no delays, no fighters hovering over the table, and far less confusion.
3. Great for All Belts, White to Black
My first tournament as a white belt was overwhelming. There were SO many people there that I completely psyched myself out. At the TCO BJJ Open, we’re expecting about 200-300 competitors. Our biggest division had 16 guys, but most had anywhere from 4-10. We’re all here for a good cause, so the stress level is low (it’s not the Worlds or anything). If you’re looking for the right opportunity to get acclimated to BJJ competition, this is a great opportunity.
Even though we’re a great environment for beginners, that doesn’t mean advanced grapplers won’t enjoy it either. It’s a week before the New York Open, so it’s a great opportunity to work out the final kinks. We had some very accomplished brown belts join us last year, including a former purple belt world champion, so you’ll be able to test yourself. Plus, since it’s so cheap, why not get the experience?
5. Safe – IBJJF Rules with IBJJF Refs
The TCO BJJ Open follows the IBJJF rule set, which strictly prohibits all heel hooks and restricts knee bars and toe holds to the advanced belts. I know some people prefer the “anything goes” mentality of some of the larger tournaments, but if you want to be a world champion, you have to compete under IBJJF rules. We’re hiring qualified IBJJF referees this year, so you’ll know the referees are qualified and you won’t lose a match simply because of incompetence.
6. Fun – For a Great Cause
I didn’t know what to expect going into last year’s TCO BJJ Open as far as the competition and sportsmanship was concerned. Competitors came to win, for sure, but I saw such amazing sportsmanship and so many smiling faces that I knew we had something special on our hands. Everyone knew we were coming together for a cause much bigger than BJJ. Winning and losing on the mat didn’t mean nearly as much as helping so many people in need who are fighting a real fight with cancer.
We were all there to show the world what type of people make up the BJJ community. Ultimately, our first event attracted over 200 competitors (the max we could accomodate with our mat space) and raising over $20,000. This year we’re expanding to six mats and will accomodate upwards of 300 competitors. Plus we’ll run even more efficiently by requiring pre-registration (so we’re not wasting time putting together the brackets), bringing in more volunteers, hiring IBJJF referees and more.
A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of meeting up with Charlie from Digitsu—a great site that’s the home of Lucas Lepri’s Championship Guard Passing and Abmar Barbosa’s Jiu-Jitsu Outlaw DVD sets. Charlie was nice enough to arm me with a bunch of DVDs to give away to the awesome fans and supporters of Tap Cancer Out.
Because I’m feeling very excited that we’re closing in on 13,000 fans AND we’ve already raised over $7,500 (over 25% of our goal of $30,000) for the Tap Cancer Out Spring BJJ Open, we’re giving away a FREE COPY of Abmar Barbosa’s Jiu-Jitsu Outlaw: First Edition 4-disc DVD set valued at over $100!! Plus, we’ll throw in the sticker too.
Winning is simple!
Head over to the Digitsu Facebook page, Like it and comment by saying “Tap Cancer Out sent me!” (try to tag us, @TapCancerOut).
Fill out the form below
Comment on our Facebook post (the one with the picture above) to confirm that you’ve entered
That’s it!!
Make sure to subscribe to Digitsu’s YouTube page and follow them on Twitter as well.
The winner is Corey Rive!! Congrats Corey!!
A little more about Abmar’s DVD:
DISC 1: CLOSED GUARD
Who says that the closed guard is a dated stalling position? In this 90 minute DVD Abmar dispels this myth and personally teaches you the most innovative attacks in his arsenal… NOTHING IS HELD BACK!
DISC 2: SPIDER GUARD / THE BARBOSA GUARD
Train with a champion! In this extensive 90 minute session, you’ll tackle Abmar’s most effective sweep position, the Spider Guard, and his specialized Barbosa Guard.
In the Spider Guard section, Abmar shows his most effective sweeps (including the phenomenal sweep that he used in the 2010 IBJJF PANS) and drills that will improve your Spider Guard.
Additionally, on this disc, Abmar reveals his well protected secret… The Barbosa Guard.
Disc 3: PASSING GUARD
Bring your skills to a new level with 90 minutes of intense focus on Abmar’s lightning speed and relentless guard passing skills. Also, unlike any other instructional, Abmar shows you exactly what to do if you end up in the Barbosa Guard.
DISC 4: DE LA RIVA GUARD
This is perhaps the most complete instructional on what to do when your opponent is foolish enough to pry open your guard. In just 90 minutes, you’ll get an extensive look at the intricacies of Abmar’s competition confirmed DLR guard and how to use it properly!
In the spring of 2011 we hosted our first Tap Cancer Out BJJ Open to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The event was outstanding, attracting nearly 200 competitors, 50 of which fundraised on behalf of Tap Cancer Out, raising over $17,000 before the tournament had even started! After all was said and done, over $21,000 had been raised, allowing our nonprofit to provide the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with gifts totaling over $28,000 in 2011.
With that kind of success in our first attempt at a fundraising tournament (quite possibly the first BJJ fundraising tournament ever), we couldn’t stop there. So in 2013, our plan is to host four fundraising tournaments with a goal of raising over $100,000!
After much deliberation, insight gathering and strategizing for 2013, we are happy to announce that we will continue our successful relationship with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society into 2013 as our primary beneficiary.
There are a few reasons we chose the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, but first let me address some obvious questions.
Our initial mission was to be an equal opportunity nonprofit, helping various cancer causes along the way. Each calendar year we’d raise awareness and funds for our beneficiary, and each following year we’d choose a new one to support. This year we even asked for your input, allowing our community to nominate a cause and received dozens of suggestions (thank you).
Fairfield, CT – July 2, 2012 – Tap Cancer Out, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, recently completed their first yearlong beneficiary fundraising campaign by presenting a check for $22,658.11 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Connecticut.
While Tap Cancer Out raises money on an ongoing basis through merchandise sales, donations, and sponsorships, the primary source of funding came from their Tap Cancer Out Charity Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament held at Bunnell High School in Stratford, CT, on April 28th of this year.
The nonprofit challenged competitors to earn their entry fee to compete by fundraising on behalf of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 49 competitors utilized the nonprofit’s social fundraising platform, StayClassy.org, to raise over $17,000 dollars. That amount nearly doubled the organization’s original goal of $10,000. The top fundraiser was David Patton, representing Team Serra/Longo in Long Island, NY, who raised $2,100. In total over 200 competitors from dozens of schools around the northeast took part in the tournament.
As the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grows, Gi manufacturers are popping up all over the place. But few of them were huge Tap Cancer Out supporters BEFORE they were founded. One such company is Inverted Gear. The founder, Nelson Puentes, was the first to don a Tap Cancer Out shirt on the IBJJF podiums (even before me!).
To celebrate surpassing 8,000 Facebook fans, Inverted Gear has given me the opportunity to give away one of their Gis to you! The winner will be notified on Wednesday, June 27th, and will be able to choose his or her size and color (blue or white).
I already own an Inverted Gear Gi and have rolled in it a few times, so I wanted to give you a short video review. Give it a watch and fill out the form below to be entered.
Congrats to Dan Gardella for winning the Inverted Gear Gi, and a special thanks to Nelson at Inverted Gear for providing the merchandise to reward one of our awesome followers.
Earlier this year, I came across a Facebook page for Seana Rossi. A purple belt under Jorge Britto at Toronto BJJ, Seana was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the young age of 26. She didn’t let cancer stop her from living life, and in 2008, two years after being diagnosed, she started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. But by 2009, the cancer had returned. Even through chemotherapy, Seana still trained and competed in numerous tournaments. The Facebook page was set up to help raise funds for necessary medical treatments that weren’t covered under health insurance.
I watched as the BJJ community came together to support Seana, even though most of us (including myself) never met her. It didn’t matter. We saw our BJJ sister, complete with gi pants and a bandana to cover the effects of the chemo, with a big smile on her face. Seminars and fundraisers galore took place to help raise money for Seana’s treatments. Everyone gave everything they could.
Seana passed away on May 19th. In a true sign of what BJJ is all about, Seana’s instructor, Jorge Britto, promoted Seana to the rank of faixa preta—black belt—posthumously. Said Britto,
For my part could not fail to promote Seana as my first black belt (in memoriam) for all she did and how she represented the qualities of a true warrior, the values of Jiu Jitsu that we fight for. A black belt is a white belt who never quits, and Seana never quit. If Seana were still with us she would complete this mission because she never, never give up.
I’m not writing this story because I wanted to be the bearer of bad news. I wish with all my heart that I could have written about Seana’s victory over this vicious, relentless disease. But I did feel compelled to write about her story. When I look at the pictures of Seana, I see her heart, soul, and light that pours from her eyes and smile. She’s a perfect stranger, but I see a teammate. I see a friend. I see a sister. My teammate. My friend. My sister.
I don’t know what it feels like to have known Seana personally, but I do know what it’s like to lose a friend and family member to cancer. Nearly all of us have. It takes its toll, but life progresses…it has to. We move on and keep their light inside our hearts and memories inside our minds. They become part of us. Every time Seana’s teammates step on the mat, she’ll be with them. Every time the match gets tough, they’ll hear her voice cheering for them, supporting them, fueling them to never give up.
Seana, I never met but you touched my life. You will be missed, but never forgotten.
Long overdue, the results are in. Thanks again to everyone who competed! Apologies for any misspellings. Some school names were missing from sheets. If yours is missing and would like it added, please email us at info {at} tapcancerout.org.
