GracieMag reported this week that a source close to the magazine has confirmed there will be upcoming rule changes within the IBJJF organization including: changes to the belt system for kids, a requirement for competitors to bring two gis- one white and one blue- to IBJJF competitions, and that “an expert in antidoping measures has been consulted to address doping and move forward testing and penalizing processes for athletes” in jiu-jitsu.
Antidoping and blue gi (Excerpt from article by Marcelo Dunlop, GracieMag.com) For full article, click here.
“Changes to the promotion system are just part of the greater changes to the rules, which will be released soon and only be implemented in 2012. One of them, according to a source close to the IBJJF, is a measure meant to make life easier on the referees, which is to require competitors bring two gis – one white and one blue – to competitions, with each of the two competitors in a contest wearing different colors to make them more easily distinguishable to referees. According to recent studies in Europe, this simple measure spares the referees’ eye sight and reduces refereeing mistakes by 20% in martial arts competitions.
Another subject on the docket is the question of antidoping. A source close to the IBJJF broke the news to GRACIEMAG.com that the request of the broader public and many readers, through comments here on the website, will become reality.
An expert in antidoping measures has already been consulted, and efforts should move forward next year. “Testing for banned substances doesn’t boil down to just testing and penalizing, it’s a process of educating the athletes. We need to define what is banned, and we’ve already started touching on that,” said the source, without specifying a deadline. But one can already start dreaming of a 2012 Worlds free of doping.”
For the latest OTM posts, follow us on Twitter at @OTM or on our Facebook page.