U.S. Open X: FEATURED EVENTS
To celebrate the TENTH annual U.S. Open, Claudio Fransa & team are putting together some special events.
The tournament will be held October 22 & 23 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz, CA. There will be no increase in the registration fee–we’re bringing you the same service, for the same price, year after year. The fee for early registration, i.e., received by Midnight Wednesday October 12th, is $50.00. The fee for late registration (received Oct. 13th – 17th Midnight) will be $65.00.
BROWN/BLACK BELT TEAM CHALLENGEClaudio Franca pioneered the team tournament in Rio in 1990, and this is the first time, to our knowledge, that this has been recreated here in the States. Each participating team will enter 3 black or brown belts in one open weight male black/brown division.
The winning team–the team that wins the most fights–will take home $3,000. In the event that there are more than two teams, the second place team will receive $500.
Team registration will be $100. Teams may be created in any way, as long as all members are legitimate black or brown belts.
A team may enter with just 2 competitors, if they wish, however, this will diminish the team’s chances of taking first place. A fourth competitor can be included on the team as an alternate, in case of last-minute injury or illness.
BROWN/BLACK BELT FEMALE SUPERFIGHTSThis year we have decided to replace the Women’s Pro Challenge (which was an open weight division) with superfights. This allows us to reward more winners with prizes (gis, clothes, gift certificates), rather than give away just one large prize to one winner. Also, we believe the open-weight nature of the Pro Challenge was a deterrent to some women. These superfights will match up brown and black belt women close in weight. We will work hard find good matches for any interested brown and black belt women! (Please email us if you know of anyone who is interested! blackbelt@claudiofrancabjj.com )
US OPEN X MUSEUM: The Evolution of a TournamentWe’re planning to set up a museum in one of the rooms at the Civic with past photos, press coverage, t-shirts, and medals. We’ve had some big names and amazing matches on those mats at the Civic. It’s interesting to see how far the U.S. Open has come in its 10 years. Admission will be a donation of any amount to our selected charity.
More news to come…this isn’t it. We’re commemorating this occasion with hoopla all kinds. Stay tuned!
If you or someone you know would like to join the U.S. Open mailing list, please visit our webpage www.claudiofrancabjj.com and click on the U.S. Open banner to register.