U.M.A. G.B. II OPEN NATIONAL GROUNDFIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS (With Gi)
SUNDAY 14th SEPTEMBER 2008
MOORWAYS SPORT COMPLEX, DERBY. UK.
Since taking up the Chief Officer role for the UMA at the start of the year, I had my fair share of ideas and ways to take the UMA on to bigger and better things; naturally coming from a grappling background, it is my desire to bring to the UMA my many years’ experience in and around the BJJ and MMA scene, which has taken me all over the world from LA to Abu Dhabi.
Making friends along the way and many useful contacts, I came up with an idea to bring two grappling associations together and host two separate grappling competitions under one roof and after many hours behind the scenes work with Jim Mc Sherry and Ebe Ghansah, we were delighted to host the UMA’s second national Groundfighting event (with gi) alongside Ebe Ghansah and the FILA UK National Grappling Trials; the idea behind this was to give the UMA guys a chance to see what is needed to take their grappling to the next level and to see some brilliant matches along the way and for the FILA/MMA crowd to see the standard of competition in the UMA event and to give their younger students the chance to compete in a national level competition and the juniors sure enough did not disappoint.
The day for yours truly was, as always, a busy affair, this time the busy factor doubling with a host of old friends to say hello to on the FILA mats and try and sneak in a few matches before my refereeing duties came along; on the FILA mats I watched Theo Blackledge calmly take an impressive victory in one of his early fights, a carbon copy of his much uglier brother Tom (I love you really mate!). Dublin’s John Kavanagh was on hand to wow the crowd with some outstanding grappling as was GB Brum’s Kevin Webb and no top level grappling event would be the same without the presence of London Shoot, with Paul and Alexis fielding an imposing team of top level grapplers.
Now it was time to do some work and referee; starting with the juniors I was very impressed at the skill level displayed by all fighters, a credit to their coaches and teams and of course sportsmanship, taking decisions against them with honour and no malice. Gracie Barra and Team Brasa lent support to the event by fielding large squad numbers for the juniors, further boosting the events reputation as one of the best in the UK for junior competition, lets hope we see a continuation of this great support in future events.
I had the privilege of reffing the -75, -85 and -95K brackets and all matches were hotly contested, with the majority of the matches ending in submissions, making the ref’s job that much easier and once again, when a decision went against a fighter, they took it on the chin and accepted the decision. Pivotal to all this in the decision making process is the fact that all the table judges on the day on both mats are all qualified UMA gi and no gi referees, which certainly takes a lot of pressure off the referee in the middle.
The UMA is dedicated to running smooth, efficient competitions, officiated by competent and qualified referees and the UMA takes on board all feedback, both positive and negative and I found that many issues had been acted upon since the no gi comp in May early this year. Coaches and competitors from the FILA mats were impressed at the event and level of players in the brackets and had a lot to say about the whole day itself and were able to kill tow birds with one stone by having their seniors fight in the FILA event and the juniors compete in the UMA event.
From myself, Jim and Ebe, thanks to all involved on the day, the UMA credits are at the bottom of the results section and am sure Ebe will have his thank you list out ready on the relevant forums (www.cagewarriors.com/forums and www.bjj.eu.com/forum).
Until the SW comp in December!!
CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
JUNIOR BOYS U30KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: GARETH HARRIS – AIKINS ACADEMY
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: SAM FRANC – MILTON KEYNES GRACIE BARRA
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: SAM LANE – MILTON KEYNES GRACIE BARRA
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: DANIEL BALL – CREWE JUDO
JUNIOR BOYS U40KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: JACOB NEAL – SHINGITAI JUJITSU
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: JACOB PARKS – DERBY GRACIE BARRA
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: LEWIS READ – DERBY GRACIE BARRA
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: LIAM MARTIN – DERBY GRACIE BARRA
JUNIOR BOYS U50KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: SEAN BARBER – CREWE JUDO
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: LOREN BISHOP – CREWE JUDO
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: ALEX CARTER – CREWE JUDO
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: JONAH OSBOURNE – DERBY GRACIE BARRA
JUNIOR BOYS U60KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: SHAUN MCDONAGH – DERBY GRACIE BARRA
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: BEN DOHERTY – DERBY GRACIE BARRA
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: KURT JONES – P.M. B.J.J.
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: JORDAN CAPPER – SILVER TIGERS JUDO
JUNIOR BOYS O60KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: DALE JONES – R.G.A. B.J.J. MILL HILL
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: CHRIS FRANCIS – DERBY GRACIE BARRA
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: MALLICK HENSHALL – SILVER TIGERS JUDO
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: KANE DAVIES – DERBY GRACIE BARRA
JUNIOR GIRLS U30KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: HANNAH SMITH – STOURPORT KICKBOXING
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: JESSICA BURNS – SILVER TIGERS JUDO
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: EMILY JONES – P.M. B.J.J.
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: COURTNEY LOFTHOUSE – CREWE JUDO
JUNIOR GIRLS U40KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: TANYA WARD – MILTON KEYNES GRACIE BARRA
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: NATASHA ROBERTS – AKAI JUJITSU
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: DANIELLA GHANSAH – MILTON KEYNES GRACIE BARRA
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: IZABELLA KOKOT – CREWE JUDO
JUNIOR GIRLS U50KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: LAUREN READ – DERBY GRACIE BARRA
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: MADDY NEAL – SHINGITAI JUJITSU
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: HEATHER MORGAN – AIKINS ACADEMY
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: CARMEN BISHOP – CREWE JUDO
FEMALE 15 YEARS AND OVER O50KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: ROISIE NEAL – SHINGITAI JUJITSU
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: DINA WARD – MILTON KEYNES GRACIE BARRA
MENS U65KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: JOSH CAMM – NOTTINGHAN GRACIE BARRA
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: PAUL SAWYER – MATSUMACHI JUDO
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: ZAK MCCOMBIE – WOVINGTON JUJITSU
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: LUKE HORTON – SHINGITAI JUJITSU
MENS U75KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: ALEX AKOAMO – P.M. B.J.J.
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: SAM WELLER – KETTERING SHOOTFIGHTERS
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: LEROY HOLCROFT – COMBAT BASE BOLTON
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: RHYS MARTIN – AIKINS ACADEMY
MENS U85KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: CRAIG BIBBY – CREWE JUDO
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: MICHAEL STEPHENSON – NOTTINGHAM GRACIE BARRA
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: JAMES CANAVAN – COMBAT BASE BOLTON
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: RICHARD MASON – AIKINS ACADEMY
MENS U95KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: JAMES BEESLEY – D.M.A.
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: STEVE ABRAHAM – AIKINS ACADEMY
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: GARETH PRICE – COMBAT BASE BOLTON
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: ADAM WILHELMY – TEAM RYU
MENS O95KG
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: KEVIN CARTER – CREWE JUDO
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: JOHN TAYLOR – D.M.A.
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: DEREK BURTON – AKAI JUJITSU
MENS ABSOLUTE/OPEN WEIGHT
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: MARICAM KUZWLISKIDMA – C.B.B.
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUNNER UP: JOHN HUGHES – P.M. B.J.J.
MENS MASTERS 35+
1st PLACE GOLD MEDALLIST and UMA OPEN CHAMPION: VICTOR SCOTT – P.M. B.J.J.
2nd PLACE SILVER MEDALLIST AND RUMNNER UP: RYAN MORGAN – AIKINS ACADEMY
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: PAUL SAWYER – MATSUMACHI JUDO
3rd PLACE BRONZE MEDALLIST: CARL FISHER – COMBAT BASE BOLTONTHANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING U.M.A. OFFICIALS ETC, FOR THEIR EXCELLENT WORK AND HELP AND IN AIDING THE SMOOTH RUNNING THE CHAMPIONSHIPS:
U.M.A. CHAMPIONSHIP REFEREE: CARL FISHER
U.M.A. CHAMPIONSHIP REFEREE: CHRIS SHARPE
U.M.A. CHAMPIONSHIP REFEREE: LEE BLUNDELL
U.M.A. CHAMPIONSHIP REFEREE: LEIGH HITCHEN
U.M.A. CHAMPIONSHIP REFEREE: CARIG BIBBY
U.M.A. CHAMPIONSHIP REFEREE: KEVIN CARTER
U.M.A. CHAMPIONSHIP REFEREE: PETER MARSH
U.M.A. CHAMPIONSHIP REFEREE: BEN OGUNBY
U.M.A. COMPETITOR REGISTRATION: STEVE Mc SHERRY
U.M.A. COMPETITOR REGISTRATION: CONNIE WOOLLEY
U.M.A. COMPETITOR REGISTRATION SUPERVISOR AND U.M.A. HOST: SUE Mc SHERRY
U.M.A. FIRST AID SUPERVISOR: TONY BOLTON-WOOD
U.M.A. FIRST AID SUPPORT: JO’ Mc SHERRY
U.M.A. CHAMPIONSHIPS VENUE: MOORWAYS LEISURE COMPLEX, DERBY
THANK YOU TO DERBY CITY COUNCIL FOR THE USE OF MOORWAYS LEISURE COMPLEX IN DERBY
THANK YOU TO GREAT BRITAIN GRAPPLING AND EBE GHANSAH FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND RECOGNITION OF THE U.M.A. AND THE GI CHAMPIONSHIPS
THANK YOU TO ALL THE U.M.A. AFFILIATE MEMBER CLUBS, ALL THE NON MEMBER CLUBS WHO SUPPORTED AND ENTERED COMPETITORS, AND ALL THE SPECTATORS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND FOR MAKING THE U.M.A. AND OUR CHAMPIONSHIPS WHAT THEY ARE, ONE OF THE BEST ASSOCIATIONS AND EVENTS IN THE U.K.
Akai Ryu JuJitsu – Bushido M.M.A. – Combat Base Bolton – Crewe Judo – Nottingham Gracie Barra – Kettering Shootfighters – Matsumachi Judo – P.M.B.J.J. – R.G.A. B.J.J. Mill Hill – Shingitaii JuJitsu – Stourport U.K. Kickboxing – Team Ryu – Tiger Judo Academy – Derby Gracie Barra – Milton Keynes Gracie Barra – Aikins Academy B.J.J. – C.D.B. – Wovington JuJitsu – D.M.A.
U.M.A. CHAMPIONSHIPS COORDINATOR AND CHIEF GROUNDFIGHTING REFEREE: JIM Mc SHERRY