Dear Athletes and Jiu-Jitsu Family community,
WEST COAST TOURNAMENT 2005 OCTOBER POSTPONED!
September 13, 2005.
Since my brother Ralph and I decided to plan our first Jiu-Jitsu tournament in 2001 we made a vow to hold our events to certain standards with the goal of always improving our events; yet, at the same time, maintaining the consistent high standards for anything we do in our Family’s tradition. Only a little over a month ago we announced the date of our second tournament for the year 2005 which was to be held in San Francisco at the Historic Kezar Pavilion. It is with no little regret that we are faced with a need to announce at this time that we must postpone our October tournament. Organizing and running a tournament is something that can be overwhelming due to so many pieces and people, equipment, sponsors, insurance, and officials, that all must be co-ordinate and managed if we are to keep the quality of the event consistent with our goals.. Both Ralph and myself have found ourselves in the position where we have found that prior commitments, that each of us have made, are impacting our ability to devote the necessary time and attention that would allow us to conduct the planned October event to the standards we demand of ourselves, is just not possible now. For instance, I have recently opened a new academy in Tracy and with every new Academy there are many demands upon my time and energy that accompany the opening of a facility from building and space issues to student enrollment and promotion in the Academy’s new home. We thought our commitments would all be resolved as the planning phase for this tournament approached; but they were postponed as well to the extent that they began to conflict with the time needed to devote to the many activities that comprise Tournament planning. The prior tournaments, that Ralph and I have managed, have established a reputation for their quality as evidenced by their ever increasing numbers of participants and interest in the world of Jiu-Jitsu. In that we will never compromise on our standards; rather than simply try to get by and risk having a less than top quality event, we both felt that by postponing the event at this time we could hold it perhaps later this year and once again offer the best event possible to everyone who has supported us in the past. That way we will continue to grow in the right way and that will benefit both the sports development and the participants themselves. While postponing the event at this time, we hope to announce the new future date for this tournament in a few weeks when our commitments subside. We are confident that we will then be able to focus once again exclusively on our goal of conducting a tournament to the standards all who have been involved in our tournaments in the past have come to expect and appreciate. Thank you for your consideration and support.
Charles and Ralph Gracie United Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Team