CJI 2 Trials This Weekend
What to know about the CJI 2 Team Australasia Trials event this weekend.
Team Australasia CJI 2 Trials
SATURDAY, MAY 10 FROM MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
TIME: 12PM LOCAL (GMT+10)
BROADCAST: YOUTUBE
Following the success of last year’s Craig Jones Invitational, the event is back but this time with a bigger twist.
Rather than repeating the same event as another individual focused tournament, CJI 2 has adopted the Quintet ruleset and is focusing itself on being a team-oriented competition. The Quintet rules, which features teams of five competitors facing off with each match winner staying on the mat, is a welcomed departure from event structures. In fact, team focused BJJ competitions is one I’ve long argued is the best way to not only make an entertaining spectacle for established fans, but also creates an easy entry point for casual fans. Four teams are, after all, somewhat easier to remember rather than 16 individual people. At least that’s my belief.
This weekend features probably the official “kickoff” for CJI 2, with the Team Australasia tournament to determine who will fill in the final two slots. Specifically, they’re looking for competitors to be the -99kg and the +99kg weight category representative.
To do this, rather than just simply pick and choose Team Australasia’s coach Lachlan Giles has put together a round robin tournament, and an open invitational. In short, the invitational will find one individual to fill in the final slot of a 6 person round robin. The five other slots were invites sent out to the top competitors in Australia/Oceania and Asia. These six will then face off in a competition with the top two competitors ostensibly being selected to fill in the remaining positions on Team Australasia.
Is this a bit convoluted? Sure. Is this an intriguing way to figure out who is going? Yes.
The full list of invited members of the Round Robin competition are:
Declan Moody
Alibi Orazbek
Kaya Rudolph
Roberto “Bob” Dib Frias
Belal Etaibari
Joining them will be one of the following competitors from the open invitational.
Tito Carley
Anton Minenko
Kenta Iwamoto
Harry Grech
Thomas David
Josh Shipton
Kit Dale
Burak Sarman
Alex Hungahunga
Harry Caesar
Siraj Soufi
Adnan Larry
Urosh Culic
Josh Schofield
Mathew Oxenham
Duke Didier
Now, who is on the actual team? Well thankfully we know at least half of the team already, with the -66kg slot to be announced at a later date closer to the event.
Team Misfits Australasia
Coach: Lachlan Giles
-66kg: (To be announced)
-77kg: Levi Jones-Leary
-88kg: Lucas Kanard
-99kg: TBD at Round Robin Tournament
+99kg: TBD at Round Robin Tournament
The full event will start on May 10th and go through May 11th, Australia time, and will be available for live stream on YouTube.