One Month Out: FILA Grappling World Championships & USA Vs Brazil Judo Challenge Match Come to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Dec. 12-13

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) - The 2009 FILA Grappling World Championships will be held in just under a month from today at the Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center from Dec. 12-13 and will be hosted by USA Wrestling.  

Grappling, also known as submission wrestling, is recognized as a new form of international wrestling and will include both Gi and No-Gi divisions with the Gi competition being similar to judo.

"USA Judo has teamed up with our friend in USA Wrestling, to have some of our top judo athletes compete in the Grappling with Gi World Championships, representing Team USA," said USA Judo CEO Jose H. Rodriguez (Colorado Springs, Colo.)  "We will also host a USA vs. Brazil Judo team competition in seven men's weight divisions on Dec. 13.  Judo in South Florida is very popular and we hope that all of our judo athletes, coaches and fans come out to watch these World Championships while enjoying some good head-to-head judo matches with Brazil." 

The No-Gi competition will be held on Dec. 12 with the Gi competition on Dec. 13. Team USA is the defending World Team Champion in both disciplines. The USA vs. Brazil Judo Challenge Match will be held on Dec. 13 from 1 - 2:30 p.m.   

The U.S. Grappling World Team was determined at the Grappling World Team Trials in Phoenix, Ariz. in late October. The complete U.S. Grappling World Team will be announced next week after the final spots on the roster are being determined by committee selection.

The U.S. team will be coached by USA Grappling National Coach Ricardo Liborio (Coconut Creek, Fla.)  Liborio is the coach of the renowned American Top Team program and is a legend in the grappling and ju-jitsu communities. 

"Hosting the World Championships will provide a lot of tough competition because it is held in the United States," said Liborio. "It will be hard work for our team. We will have more competition than ever before." 

Many of the members of the U.S. Grappling World Team will participate in a training camp conducted by Liborio at the American Top Team facility in Coconut Creek from Dec. 5-10 in preparation for the competition.

At this time, the following nations have indicated they will participate in the Grappling World Championships: Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Tajikistan.

FILA hosted its first Grappling World Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland in December 2008.

Tickets are available at the door or for purchase in advance through Ticket Leap. Prices are $20 for adults, $10 for Seniors (65 and older) and $10 for Youth (15 and under).

Order your tickets online now by visiting the following Web site:

https://usa-wrestling2.ticketleap.com/buy-tickets/sports/fila-grappling-world-championships/fort-lauderdale/758D972F-15F8-4468-B04B-8EC8DF825C0 

Tags: Jose Rodriguez