Thank you IBJJA

SDTimeout

For the best tournament Ireland has ever seen. Really well run, great venue, atmosphere and high level of competitors. Some really nice blue and purple belt matches. Congrats to Liam and anybody who helped run the event.

Suggestion. It may require more matted areas but first round exits maybe given another chance against other first round exits. The likely hood though is that would only congest the tournament more.

One complaint! A food stand and or a bit of music would have been nice but that's minor minor stuff.
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Roll on Irish Cup, Grapplepalooza Munster Open and anything else coming up!

Spideog Rua

I think there was 290 competitors when you include the 40 kids that competed in the Irish Kid Open earlier in the day. I thought the whole event ran extremely well with very few visible hicups. Let's hope it continues to grow next year with even more competitors.

There were some outstanding competitive and high quality matches, particularly from Chris Leddy, Joey Breslin, Richard Gorey, Ashley Williams and Tom King. Although the womens division was small, the way Amanda English won was very impressive. The purple belt absolute final between Williams and King was on a knife edge all the way throughout with only one advantage seperating the two at the end.

One or two things to consider for next year:

• An IBJJA banner behind the podium for the guys getting photographs with their medals.
• A matted warm up area. I know it's not the done thing at the Mundials or Euro's, but that doesnt mean we shouldn't do it here.
• An award or trophy for the team winners.

Well done to everyone in the IBJJA for putting on such a great event.

Jason McCabe

Where can one see the results?

Chris89

A matted warmup area would of course be nice, but its definitely not necessary. Great tournament lads very well run and +1 for banner behind the podium. The wall was very ugly!

I think its clear that something needs to be done about the refereeing standards. No disrespect to anyone involved but there are a number of IBJJF qualified referees whom are utterly clueless when it comes to the rules (That is not to say however, that some of the refereeing was excellent). If I was asked to referee and I was unsure about anything I would make it my business to do my study and make sure I know all there is to know.

I would love the IBJJA to look into this going forward, an IBJJF refereeing qualification shouldnt be the only criterion (:cool:) used to select referees. Correct me if Im wrong but everyone who paid the fee for the Irish course was awarded their certificate!

Again no disrespect to anyone in particular, Its a hard job at the best of times, just an idea for the future

Spideog Rua

Chris89 wrote: »

I think its clear that something needs to be done about the refereeing standards. No disrespect to anyone involved but there are a number of IBJJF qualified referees whom are utterly clueless when it comes to the rules (That is not to say however, that some of the refereeing was excellent). If I was asked to referee and I was unsure about anything I would make it my business to do my study and make sure I know all there is to know.

I would love the IBJJA to look into this going forward, an IBJJF refereeing qualification shouldnt be the only criterion (:cool:) used to select referees. Correct me if Im wrong but everyone who paid the fee for the Irish course was awarded their certificate!

I only saw one or two examples of contentious advantages or points, but that happens in all competitions all over the world (Even when Xande beat Romulo 2-0 last night in the San Diego World Pro qualifiers).

I do agree that there should be more referees courses to grow the number of qualified referees. I also think that maybe refresher courses for existing referees should be done, simply because the ruleset has some small changes every year to reflect the evolving nature of the game.

Liam_B

Guys thanks for the Feedback , both positive and room for improvements. There is always room for improvement, this is how the Event's get better.

Delighted to hear that its being a huge improvement , Bigger Venue, more matted area. on time in and out. run smoothly.


Wont be allocating a matted warm up area, as these area's always turn into a glorified mattress, hence why you dont see them in major comps.

We have 30 Qualified Referee's in this Country, lets hope we get more folks willing to step forward to Ref for the next IBJJA Tournament.

I'd like to personally thank Each Ref an Official. Its a thankless Job & mistakes can be made.


Also Huge Thanks to all the Teams who traveled all over the Country to make the Event such a success.

Feedback has being taken on board.
Thanks guys for the Feedback.

slammer187

An Acai stand is essential for the next comp :P

arte suave

Excellent comp lads. I agree that there's no need for a matted area for warm ups.
What i would like to see next time would be more matted areas (6 or 8) and look to make the tournament even bigger. Food, music and acai would all be great but not essential. Extra space might also allow for juniors and teens that lose their first fights get a second or even third one. Maybe charge them 5euro extra, I'm sure most people would be happy to pay it if they were guaranteed 2 fights, especially guys who are travelling. This was done with some of the juniors this time and was greatly appreciated but there's no reason why we can't get an extra fight for the teens every year. Just because this isn't the done thing in other comps doesn't mean it wouldn't be beneficial to the development of young talent in this country.

I'd be interested to hear what people think about doing away with the Master's category and just grouping everyone together into bigger divisions. Or maybe having a cut off point. For example if there are 3 guys in for Blue heavy adult and 1 guy in for Masters would it not be better to put the master in with the adults instead of making him fight up a weight class? Maybe we should try and get 8 guys minimum in a division regardless of age and if that number is reached then there can be a masters division, if not they all fight together.
From what I saw of the refs they all did a great job and I don't see what the fuss is about. Bad calls get made from time to time. It happens no matter who is reffing. I don't think over qualifying people to ref these comps would be worth the reward. Imo the reffing and scoring was handled very well. The digital score boards were great to have too.

Just a few ideas for ye lads
Thanks again for a great comp.
John Eustace

Chris89

Spideog Rua wrote: »

I only saw one or two examples of contentious advantages or points, but that happens in all competitions all over the world (Even when Xande beat Romulo 2-0 last night in the San Diego World Pro qualifiers).

I do agree that there should be more referees courses to grow the number of qualified referees. I also think that maybe refresher courses for existing referees should be done, simply because the ruleset has some small changes every year to reflect the evolving nature of the game.

Of course all the above is true but there is a huge difference between contentious decisions and genuine lack of knowledge.

I dont want to sound like a wet blanket as I really enjoyed the tournament and I was lucky enough to not be on the end of any 'contentious' decisions.
Would just love to see some more consistency going forward.

lawrencesummers

Chris89 wrote: »

...I think its clear that something needs to be done about the refereeing standards. No disrespect to anyone involved but there are a number of IBJJF qualified referees whom are utterly clueless when it comes to the rules (That is not to say however, that some of the refereeing was excellent). ...

Why not start with posting any videos that you see where mistakes are made so that people can see where they are going wrong. Be more constructive about it, with very few competitions here in the last few years it has to be extremly difficult for the organisers to get referees that are experienced, and experience is probably what is lacking, there are some simple things positions to judge but others are more complex and rarely seen, if mistakes are not pointed out in a polite and constructive manner how will people learn?

And also on the other hand, spectators, coaches and fighters are often lacking understanding of the rules, and shout and scream for points that are not legitimate.

Chris89

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Why not start with posting any videos that you see where mistakes are made so that people can see where they are going wrong. Be more constructive about it, with very few competitions here in the last few years it has to be extremly difficult for the organisers to get referees that are experienced, and experience is probably what is lacking, there are some simple things positions to judge but others are more complex and rarely seen, if mistakes are not pointed out in a polite and constructive manner how will people learn?

And also on the other hand, spectators, coaches and fighters are often lacking understanding of the rules, and shout and scream for points that are not legitimate.

I believe the issue to be lack of knowledge not lack of experience. I'm not trying to be negative, I'm just calling a spade a spade.. Some people know the rules, some people do not.

I would be happy to referee at any future tournaments, I did not attend the ibjjf referee course but I would like to think I have a very good understanding of the rules.

P.s I saw a few cameramen taking pictures at the tournament, Anyone know if there is any photos up online anywhere?

matrat

I agree, overall it was a very enjoyable event and the level of competition in all divisions is showing the great progression of bjj in ireland. However i did feel the reffing was at times confussing. Im not goin to pretend to be a trained ref or know every rule inside out but i feel i know enough to follow any bout. I have an example that i feel was incorrect and please correct me if im wrong. I seen a bout were from standing, wel say competitor A had a hold of a sleeve and a lapel. He jumped into guard and was dropped on his back. The bout stayed in this position for the whole match with the only movements being competitor B tried to pass guard 3 or 4 times unsuccesfully. He was never swept and competitor A always reclaimed closed guard. My understanding of the rules would be in this case, competitor B would be awarded the advantage and win the bout. The result was he lost the bout 2-0. I also seen several cases of passing guard not being awarded any points. Im not trying to put a downer on the event in any way but i hope the organisers wil agree that to keep progressing we need to be critical!!

SBG Ireland

a lot went into organising that day. major thanks to liam and andy who did most of it!

as for complaining about refs...im pretty certain in all the time i've been around bjj i dont think i've ever heard even once a comp where someone didnt moan about some decision. just how it is.

looking forward to the cork one next

MarkB_

Not sure if this was sorted out later in the day, but in my division every match in the second round was between teammates. Obviously it's not a huge problem but it's something that could be easily fixed. Other than that it was a brilliant tournament, so thanks again.

Jason McCabe

Results???

AllianceBJJ Ireland

Many thanks to Irish BJJ Association and everybody who helped organise this competition, it is greatly appreciated, a 1st class tournament by all accounts. I'm sure you guys will make it even better next time. Sure there were a few bumps in the road... but overall and in comparison to the Irish open 2010... this year was a roaring success! Looking forward to the next one already...

Ryan Smyth

dasmoose

Results - http://irishopendivisions.blogspot.com/2012/03/adult-results-weight-division.html

I thought it was a really well run tournament... even if I did get disqualified.

Didnt actually see any dodgy calls all day, but as a referee myself I can tell you that everyone makes mistakes and even though I'd like to think I know the rules very well and I've a lot of experience - been reffing 2 or 3 years now - I still cock up all the time. By all means if anybody saw me do anything daft please let me know so I can do better next time!

Jonah42

That was my first competition. Was really impressed with the set-up. Lost my first fight on points but learnt from it and really enjoyed the day. Can't wait for the next one.

Niall0

dasmoose wrote: »

Results - http://irishopendivisions.blogspot.com/2012/03/adult-results-weight-division.html

I thought it was a really well run tournament... even if I did get disqualified.

Missed that match, any video of it or the black belt match?

SBG Ireland

i had the unfortunate task of DQ'ing mark ending an entertaining match up. as a practicioner i may not agree with that rule, but as a ref im bound by it.

i saw on a teams FB page them giving out about a ref calling him an idiot for DQ'ing their player for 'reaping' the leg. teams will have to get used to this rule as it is enforced very strictly on the circuit.

Chris89

SBG Ireland wrote: »

i saw on a teams FB page them giving out about a ref calling him an idiot for DQ'ing their player for 'reaping' the leg. teams will have to get used to this rule as it is enforced very strictly on the circuit.

I saw this too but the issue here is that this actually wasnt a 'knee reap' as described in the ibjjf rules. The guys left leg did come well arcoss the knee but his right leg wasnt involved if i remember correctly. I was on the right end of the exact same call against Dean from SBG in a previous tournament. I thought this to be the rule but after looking it up I saw I Was wrong.

Definitely a confusing rule though and Im sure even at the highest level there is a bit of a grey area around the rule.

EnjoyChoke

Ten out of ten for this comp as far as I'm concerned.
As for the referees, didn't see one texting or checking out the ladies when their eyes should be on the match, which I have seen at much bigger tournaments.
Of course there's room for improvement and I'm sure all constructive
criticism will be taken on board.
Those of us who've been around long enough, should think back to the first Irish Open in 2005 and see how far the sport has come.

wetdogsmell

theres always going to be cry babys complaining about losing, they blame everyone but themself