ABU DHABI // The UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation launched their new season on a solemn note on Wednesday evening.
Officials said a competition named in honour of the 45 Emirati servicemen killed in Yemen and pledged a donation of Dh1 million towards the UAE’s humanitarian aid to Yemen.
“We have 13 championship events scheduled across the country for the 2015/2016 season and one of them has been named in honour of our martyrs,” said Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, vice chairman of the UAEJJF, at the launch at the Emirates Palace hotel.
The Martyrs Championship will take place on October 23 and 24. The UAEJJF did not say where it will be held.
The season kicks off this weekend with the Al Ain Open, the No Gi competition tomorrow followed by the Gi event on Saturday, both at the UAE University.
The Dubai Open is slated for October at Al Nasr Club with the UAE Super Cup in November set to coincide with National Day celebrations.
The highlight of the calendar, the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championships, will be held April 14 to 23. The qualifying trials, 30 in total, for the Abu Dhabi World Pro have already begun with two completed in Brazil and the Netherlands.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tour that recently got underway with the first leg in Tokyo is another brainchild of the UAEJJF. The remaining events are in Los Angeles (October 18), Rio de Janeiro (December 5 and 6), and London (March 19 and 20).
“As in every season, the bar has been raised with new incentives and a growing number of competitions,” Al Dhaheri said.
“The number of kids, both boys and girls, from the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu School Programme has increased to over 47,000 after jiu-jitsu was included in the curriculum in 38 schools.
“Hence, we need to provide competitions for them. We want them to benefit through the local competitions with the obvious objective that some of them will bring in world fame.”
Jiu-jitsu has made it on to the roster for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and the next stop is the Olympics, according to Fahad Ali Al Shamsi, chief executive of the UAEJJF.
“Jiu-jitsu is moving on the right direction,” he said. “The Asian Championships under the Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union in Jakarta will be a forerunner ahead of the Asian Games.
“The competitions organised and conducted by the federation are now well established.
“The ranking system is another positive new development. There are financial benefits and that’s another huge incentive for the athletes to achieve the No 1 rank in the world in every weight and belt categories.”
The ranking system also applies for women, junior boys and girls under 18.
Aref Al Awani, secretary general of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, says the sky is the limit for jiu-jitsu.
We were dreaming big three years ago and now we are living that dream,” he said.
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