The organizers of the U.S. Open XIII would like to thank everyone who participated in this year's event. We had another great year and a lot of fun! With the picturesque setting of Santa Cruz, California, the charming venue of the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, delicious Brazilian food and drink, GRACIEMAG and the best MMA apparel anywhere, it's no wonder people call it "America's Favorite Tournament". This year we saw nearly 800 competitors from all over the globe compete for the gold in over 100 brackets, and in more than 1,500 bouts. Competitors came from across the United States, from New York to Alaska. Our international guests included BJJ practitioners from Mongolia, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Peru and England. It is so great in these globally unsettled times that we can all come together to fight the honorable fight.
That is exactly what we strive for each year, an honorable, fair, well-organized event. We pride ourselves in providing a great location in a comfortable setting, Olympic level mats, high quality medals and cool t-shirts! We are honored that the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) has fully sanctioned the event and that it has been added to their official calendar of events. We also are very proud to have some of the best and most highly-trained referees available, guided by Alvaro Mansor, Director of Referees for the IBJJF. Over 30 participants had the opportunity to hone their refereeing skills Friday night, by attending our referee seminar, taught by Alvaro Mansor.
We have heard from so many of you about how much you appreciated the tournament and we would like to extend our gratitude to all of you for making it happen! Thanks also for bringing your friends and family; due to record ticket sales we were able to give back to our local community with over $5,000 in donations to the Good Shepherd Catholic School of Santa Cruz and Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties.
We work with the press each year to make sure that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the charities we support get their name out there and become known. This year, we were covered by all the major newspapers and TV news stations in the area. Here is a link to the TV News KION/FOX news broadcast on a story about the U.S. Open XIII and Joel Tudor, World long board surf champion recently turned BJJ black belt champion.
Throughout 13 successful years, we have learned how to improve the tournament each year. We welcome your testimonials and suggestions so we can make sure the U.S. Open continues to be "America's Favorite Tournament".
Mark your calendars, next year's U.S. Open tournament will be held on Oct. 17th and 18th, 2009. The Second American Cup will take place in Los Gatos on April 25th and 26th, 2009.
