With the inaugural Submission Sport Grappling Championship having come to a close, we are delighted to look back at the day's competition.  We sincerely thank the many dedicated athletes and trainers  that made Submission Sport I a big success.

If it were not for the packed parking lot, from the outside, it may have been easy to expect a standard grappling tournament.  However, upon entering the White Station gymnasium, Submission Sport I was anything but standard.  With several hundred competitors and stadium seating around six tatami-matted rings, the yells of cornermen and cheering spectators filled the building.

Once competition began, all six mats ran non-stop, except for a 10 minute break between no-gi and gi competition. Throughout the day, many competitors switched between the roles of grappler, spectator, and cornerman.  

 With many teams and friends at the event, the mood was light and good-spirited.  The experienced staff of referees performed well, holding competitors to the rules and rewarding fairly earned points. 

 The day was full of skilled competitors in both gi and no-gi brackets.  While many close matches went to time limit, many also ended in submissions.  With a point incentive for a strong attempted submission, there was little to no stalling.  

While many trainers sent skilled grapplers to compete, other trainers came to the event to compete as well.  The inaugural event had competition of all skill gradients, ranging from first-year students to black belt masters.  

Flanking the entrance way, were Champion Mats displaying their high quality tatami mats and Gameness, who sold their popular martial arts gear and clothing.  Submission Sport sincerely thanks Champion Mats for the beautiful and new tatami mats used during the event.  We would also like to thank Gameness who rewarded each Absolute Champion their top-of-the-line Platinum Weave Gi.

At the end of the day, we asked all who attended and competed to leave us their feedback.  Once collected and totaled, the feedback cards revealed that on a scale of 1 to 5, those attending rated the event a 4.56 with 93% of competitors planning to return.  We at Submission Sport are thrilled with this result and are passionate about making your next event even better.