Over 100 children, ages 5 to 15, turned out at Ontario Middle School in their Jiu-Jitsu uniforms on Saturday, Oct. 26 to compete in the bi-annual Team Chitwood Tournament. For the first time in over ten years, the tournament outgrew its usual location at Team Chitwood in Lexington.
Craig Chitwood, one of the three Jiu-Jitsu trained Chitwood brothers, said it was their biggest tournament to date. The morning started with the children’s tournament at 10:30 a.m. They were divided into age groups: 5-6 years-olds, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and 13-15. Each child was guaranteed four matches that took nearly three hours to complete.
Next year they plan to have more matches at the same time which will allow the fall tournament to progress more quickly.
“We started inviting schools we’re friends with, “said Craig Chitwood. “It’s gotten popular and bigger.”
The afternoon part of the tournament was the Submission Addiction Tournament, with over 60 competitors made up of teenagers and adults. The Chitwood brothers (Shawn, Craig and Neil) own the business and brand name of Submission Addiction which is the host and sponsor for that portion of the tournament. Team Chitwood also runs two other schools in Lewis Center and Hilliard, OH.
“The morning one was a little more relaxed as far as it wasn’t single elimination. If you lost, you didn’t have to go home; you kept fighting, whereas the tournament later in the day was single elimination. If you lost your first match, you were done,” said Chitwood.
The Chitwood’s are part of the Relson Gracie Association of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. There are five other Relson Gracie schools in Ohio which were invited to the tournament. “And then another five schools came as well,” he added.
This past spring is when it was realized they had outgrown using their Lexington location for the tournament. “We had 70 kids and 30 teens and adults and a ton more spectators than in the past,” explained Chitwood. As a result, they knew they would need a new venue.
The next tournament will take place in the spring. For more information about Team Chitwood and Submission Addiction, visit their website at www.teamchitwood.com and www.submissionaddiction.com.
