Clubs and BJC meet to define the National Grand Prix 2009-09-22
Representatives of six of the 12 clubs invited to the meeting of the
sixth edition of the Clubs National Grand Prix were present at the headquarters
of the Brazilian Judo Confederation. Esporte Clube Pinheiros (SP), Minas Tênis
Clube (MG), Sogipa (RS), Barueri (SP), Universidade Castelo Branco (RJ) and
Espaço Futuro (DF) met with the president of the entity, Paulo Wanderley
Teixeira, and the directors of the competition to define how the event is going
to be held and its rules.
The
competition will take place in São Paulo on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of November
(male), while the female fights will happen on the 14th and 15th of November. All
of the 12 clubs will take part in the men’s disputes, but only eight will be in
the female. In 2008, the champions of the National Grand Prix were Pinheiros
(male) and São Caetano (female). The Pinheiros’ team, actually, has been the
champion three times and is now keeping for good the cup of the competition.
“In this
meeting, the Brazilian Judo Confederation’s goal is to hear the clubs and try
and meet their requests, within reason. The Grand Prix is a competition that
puts the clubs in evidence and, therefore, this partnership is fundamental”, said
the president of the BJC, Paulo Wanderley Teixeira.
The vice-president of Sogipa, Alexandre
Algeri, also commended the healthy dialog that guided the meeting.
“The clubs
were heard, we have come up with a structure that we wanted and this is the
most important. The BJC, once again, was opened to talk to the club and we will
have a great competition. And, of course, the Sogipa team will be bringing
their best performance and seek a place up the podium”, he said.
This year,
the Male Grand Prix will be disputed with a group first phase, when the best
two judokas in each group will move forward to the quarter-finals. To value
even more all the teams, there will be face-offs to define from the first to
the 12th place. In the female category, the dispute will be like in
2008, with a group first phase and then the semi-finals.
Since the
creation of the event, in 2003, the Clubs National Grand Prix has become a
reference. The first event where the concepts of entertainment of the crowd was
applied, which have made the actions at the GP foundation pillars for the other
great competitions that are now are part of the calendar of the International
Federation, like the Grand Slam in Rio de Janeiro and the World Cup in Belo
Horizonte.
The finals and the third place disputes will be broadcasted live by the
Brazilian networks Record and SporTV.
In 2008,
the GP has generated R$5.057.611,00 in media coverage.
Chapions:
Male
2003 - São Caetano
2004 - São Caetano
2005 - Pinheiros
2006 - Pinheiros
2008 - Pinheiros
Female
2005 - Pinheiros
2006 - São Caetano
2008 - São Caetano
