Regina BJJ In House Kids Tournament

An entirely new take on Kids BJJ Tournaments!

Dates

Kids 4-7: Sunday, November 22 @ 9am
Kids 8-12: Sunday, November 29 @ 9am

Kids compete against similar age groups (4-5, 6-7, 8-10, 10-12, etc)

Minimum of 12 competitors needed to run event.

Cost: $40/competitor including taxes which includes medal, entry into competitor pizza party, a minimum of 3 matches.

Purpose

Most jiu jitsu tournaments (IBJJF-format) aren't as effective as they could be with helping child athletes grow and develop. Many competitors come away with a negative experience because of the ruleset, the format, the atmosphere, and the punishing nature of certain submissions and positions. The often large experience gap between competitors makes this even worse.

Athletes develop by experimenting, learning from mistakes, and having the freedom to explore how they best uniquely express themselves through the art. Tournaments can and should be built to support that, so every competitor has the best possible experience and takes away as much as they can from competing.

Our format aims to:

Reward the spirit of competition: encourage those who view experimentation as a way to get better and aren't afraid of the mistakes that come with it.
Build situational awareness: penalize out of bounds to keep competitors engaged in the middle of the mat
Prevent stalling and rule exploitation: avoid matches where one competitor is pinned until time runs out or where the rules are used to gain an unfair advantage
Keep it safe: provide a safe environment to gain real competition experience
Focus on what matters: prioritize technique, strategy, learning through challenges, and genuine fun over winning at any cost
Cultivate compassionate self defense skills: should young kids need to defend themselves, they shouldn’t be learning it’s ok to choke or break the arms of kids from dominant positions

Scoring

Action Points

Takedown 2

Mount 3

Back control 3

Submission from guard 4

Sweep from guard 2

Reversal (from mount, side control or back) 1

Guard pass 0

Knee on belly 0

Forcing opponent out of bounds from standing: 1 (max 3)

Forcing opponent out of bounds (1 pt):

1 point is awarded if a competitor manages to force their opponent out of bounds from standing to a maximum of 3 points.

Should a competitor have 15 points, they will not receive their 16th and win the match with this method.

Submissions

Submissions are allowed only from guard positions.
A successful submission is worth 4 points. The match does not end due to submission! It results in a restart from standing.

Other Restarts to Standing

Mount or back control: If held for more than 10 seconds the match restarts from standing. If the position is lost before 10 seconds, match continues until a stalemate has occurred.
Side control: If held for 10 seconds, no points are awarded and the match restarts from standing.
Guard: If any guard position is held for longer than 30 seconds, the match is restarted from standing.
Stalemate: If any one ground position is held for longer than 30 seconds other than previously described.

Winning/Losing the Match

The match ends when one competitor reaches or exceeds 16 points, or when time runs out.
If both competitors finish the match with the same score, the referee raises both hands.
A submission only awards 4 points and a restart, it does not mean the end of the match on submission merit alone.

Placements and Prizes

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place are decided by total points across all matches.

Every competitor in a division competes against everyone else in that division.

Brackets are setup with many considerations so everyone has a good, fair experience.

In the event where no fair matchups can be made, we will refund your entry.

1st 2nd and 3rd place receive medals and may receive a special competitor patch for their Gi (in progress)

All RJJT competitors regardless of placement will receive a special ‘bar’ on their belt opposite to their stripe bar to symbolize them as ‘competitors’ in the school.

All competitors are able to attend a free pizza & games party in June 2027 at no cost.

Match Details

3 minutes for Ages 4-7

4 minutes for Ages 7-12

Penalties and DQ

Pressure on the throat: -1 point when applied from top position for longer than 3 seconds. (Top competitor pushes on throat of bottom closed guard player. Continued use may result in DQ)
Pulling on back of head: -1 point when guard player pulls down on back of head to control posture, etc. (Continued use may result in DQ)
Should an athlete appear to be competing during an aggressive tantrum / emotional breakdown that cannot be mitigated within a 30-45 second time out, they will forfeit the match.