Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival, which is part of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, today turned its attention to young male Jiu-Jitsu athletes for the first day of the boys Festival competition.
The event, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, saw more than 1000 male competitors across 122 categories take part, aged from as young as 4 to 13 years old from 24 different countries.
Interest in the sport amongst young people has been phenomenal, with over 70,000 young girls and boys signing up to practice the world-famous martial art since Jiu-Jitsu was introduced in the Abu Dhabi school’s curriculum. The UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation hopes to nurture talent and provide the rising stars in the UAE with the opportunity to compete.
Chairman of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation and Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union and Senior Vice President of the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation H.E. Abdulmunem Al Sayed Mohammed Al Hashmi, said: “The talent on display here in Abu Dhabi has been incredible. We are extremely proud of the success of the festival this year, the support of the public and media has been invaluable to the growth of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship over the nine years and it is testament to the level of talent that Jiu-Jitsu is attracting. We are looking forward to watching the competition unfold and discovering the best talent that Jiu-Jitsu has to offer.”
The Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival which comprises of aspiring athletes from girls, boys, white belts and the brand-new Para-Jiu-Jitsu categories, kicks off the Championship event and will run until Saturday April 15th– an extended program for this year.
An extensive program of workshops have also commenced over the past few days and further workshops will run over the event. Today many of the participants took part in a workshop organised by the Abu Dhabi Police to teach them about media awareness.
Highlights to come over the coming weeks include the brand new Para-Jiu-Jitsu competition which takes place on Friday, two-day Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Youth Championship on April 16-17, for young athletes on the verge of professional stardom; the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship from April 18-22, which will see hundreds of the sport’s elite compete for the highest honours including international stars Gabriel Arges, Alexandre Ribeiro, Jose Junior and Mackenzie Dern; the return of the Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Legends, an epic clash of Jiu-Jitsu icons such as Kenny Florian, Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz and Helio “Soneca” Moreira; plus the Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Awards which recognises the talent of the sport at every level.
As well as action in the IPIC Arena fans have also been enjoying lots of family entertainment at the IPIC Fan Zone which will include sponsor activities, interactive stands, family events and food trucks which are open throughout the event, making it the perfect family day-out. There is even the chance to win exciting prizes including a brand-new car from Premier Motors; a Jaguar XE.
The event is open to all and is free to attend across the two weeks. To learn more about the event, to register and keep up-to-date with the program visit www.uaejjf.org
