Renowned jiu-jitsu coach Lachlan Giles has revealed details about the selection process for the upcoming Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) 2, where he will be coaching the Australia/Asia team.
According to Giles, two weight divisions have already been filled, with Levi and Lucas Canard securing spots in the 77kg and 88kg categories respectively. Giles plans to use a wildcard for the 66kg division, leaving the under 99kg and over 99kg heavyweight divisions still open for competition.
“What I want for these heavyweights, you really need to be a good finisher. You’re supposed to be the ones that go in and get us submission wins,”
Giles explained in a recent announcement.
The selection process for these remaining spots will involve a six-man round-robin open weight tournament.
“The way we’re going to do it will be a six-man round robin open weight. And what we’re looking for is the most submissions,”
said Giles, emphasizing that competitors will face each other in a round-robin format with the athletes securing the most submissions advancing to the team.
While the team requires both an under 99kg and an over 99kg competitor, Giles noted that exceptions could be made:
“It could be that we end up with two under 99s being at the top, and if that’s the case, then they both get through as well. But we need at least one under 99.”
To be eligible for selection, athletes must hold a passport from Australia, Oceania, or Asia. Giles will personally select five of the six competitors for the round-robin tournament, with the sixth spot determined through a separate qualification event.
The qualification schedule is now set, with the
“qualifier for the qualifiers”
taking place on May 10th, followed by the six-man round-robin on May 11th. Both events will be hosted at Absolute MMA St. Kilda, Giles‘ home gym.
All matches in the round-robin will be eight minutes long under submission-only rules. For the initial qualifier, advancement will be determined by points and decision.
Interested competitors can apply through a link in Giles‘ bio, though he cautions that not everyone will be accepted:
“Not everyone’s going to get in. You need to have some achievements that make it worth you jumping in the tournament.”
The Invitational has become a prestigious event in the grappling world, featuring teams from different geographical regions competing against each other in various weight divisions.
