Who remembers Submission Series Pro? It was an awesome organization that put on free live streams of fascinating matchups in a submission only format. After their last event, much to the dismay of a lot of the BJJ community, the promotion vanished. Recently the owner of Submission Series Pro, Derek “Cat” Clarke reached out to me to let me know about a new and exciting event he was going to be putting on in Truro Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Open Jiu Jitsu Championship, scheduled to take place on March 5th 2016.
For anyone who paid attention to Submission Series Pro, Cat is all about showmanship, and putting on a phenomenal event that everyone involved can enjoy. I asked Cat to give me some information about his event, and he gave me the scoop.
For starters, this event will run like most tournaments with some key exceptions: “This is the First of its kind anywhere in the world with this format. It’s a Gi points based tournament for all levels, anyone who wins their category will be automatically placed into the no gi absolute division. Any black belt or brown belt may automatically sign up for this division instead of competing in the gi, bypassing automatically for a $50.00 entry fee.”
As for the rule set of the event: “IBJJF GI Rules as per normal with SSP rules in the NO GI portion of the event.” Cat wants to take the appeal of his Submission Series Pro organization, and apply it to the regular competition format, creating something entirely new.
As with most events, the competitors will at some point or another also be spectators, so I was curious who competitors would get to see at the event “We have some good names here on the East Coast that always bring lots of excitement, as you saw throughout our Submission Series PRO events. We have loads of talent at all levels here in the Maritime Provinces with continued growth and success every year. Along with locals, we are expecting some bigger names to get here for the NO GI Absolutes so let’s see who else comes out of the woods to win $500.00 cash. I assume we will see lots of good talent when it comes down to the final few weeks of registration. I’d be shocked not to see a lot of talent from the clubs in Quebec such as Tristar, BTT and Gracie Barra; along with some teams from the East Coast of the US such as Renzo’s and out of Tom DeBlass’s school in Jersey. It’s the first year, so the goal is to get it to a big purse to put Maritime Jiu Jitsu on the map yet again.”
Part of what made Submission Series Pro so special was the meticulous attention to detail that Cat and his staff put forth, similar things will happen at this tournament in Nova Scotia “This event will be similar to the setting in SSP – competitors will not see anyone other than the opponent. The stadium is completely blacked out with lights on the various mat surfaces with all spectators in the background of the action. The no gi absolute division will feature a separate warm up room along with access to a Hot Tub and Fascial Therapy before the event. Warm up areas and mats are always included in our events and we will be filming all matches in HD, to be available after the event on youtube.”
This event will take place on March 5th and the prices are: Kids / Youth – $30.00-$40, Adults Men/Women GI- $40.00-$60.00, NO GI absolute – $50.00. The prices all include an event shirt. As more information becomes available it will be published at www.submissionseriespro.ca
