The Copa De Marianas was held on Oct. 3, 2015, at the Father Duenas Phoenix Center. Close to 1,000 spectators and 200 competitors attended the event.
This tournament included a no-gi division with 30 competitors vying for gold.
The team that came out on top was Purebred Jiu-jitsu, taking first in the adult and kids division.
Purebred is the oldest jiu-jitsu gym on island and this is their 16th consecutive Copa De Marianas win taking home the adult and kids team championship trophies. This marks the longest winning streak in jiu-jitsu on Guam.
Figo’ Jiu-jitsu took 2nd place in the adult and kids division for the third time. Figo’ is a gym that has been open for three years. They have become one of the largest academies on island with nearly 100 students.
While the coaches of Purebred, Figo’, Vida, and Carlson Gracie are competitive on the mat, they are all humble leaders. Stephen Roberto coaches Purebred, Luis and Elijah Reyes lead Figo’, Gabe Baker is the head of Carlson Gracie, and Josh Santos teaches at Vida.
“We are there from 8 a.m. coaching the kids and till 4pm coaching the last adult colored belt goes up,” Elijah Reyes of Figo’ said.
Children start training jiu-jitsu as early as the age of five.
“It amazes me how much these kids understand the sport and put their skills to the test by competing” said Jasmin Guerrero, a Figo’ competitor. “It takes a lot of guts.”
The referees take the kids division very carefully.
There are many moves that kids are not allowed to do, such as shoulder locks.
Also, when a child locks in a position, the referees won’t allow them to fully submit their opponent so they can avoid injuries, even minor ones.
Six kids from Purebred, five from Figo’, two from Carlson Gracie, and one from Vida got gold in the kids and teen division.
The female division is open to competitors who hold the same color belt at any weight class.
The Figo’ women swept the white belt division with Emilie Ocampo taking Gold, Neomi Wolford taking silver, and Sea’hara Cruz taking bronze. Jerica Cruz, also from Figo, took home gold in the blue belt division. There were only two competitors for the purple belt division and both were from Purebred.
In the adult white belt division, Vida won the most gold medals.
Spike 22 and Vida were tied with both three medals each in the blue belt division. Purebred took two out of four gold medals in the purple belt division and all the gold medals in the brown.
There were 28 gold medals, and in total, Purebred won nine, Vida won six, Figo’ won five, Spike 22 won four and Carlson Gracie won two.