The Asheville Novice Championship is a BJJ tournament just for adult beginners. If you have 1 year or less of grappling experience (BJJ, Judo, or wrestling), then this tournament is for you. All affiliations are welcome. Gi and no gi divisions available. Limit of 50 competitors.
Hosted by Open Source Jiu-Jitsu, an independent, unaffiliated, family-run gym with years of experience organizing BJJ tournaments. These “small batch” tournaments are beginner-friendly and intentionally accessible to allow more people to compete and strengthen BJJ in Western North Carolina.
Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025
Matches begin: 11:00 AM
Location: Open Source Jiu-Jitsu • 357 Gorman Bridge Rd, Asheville NC 28806
Registration Deadline: Thursday, February 6, 2025 * 11:59pm
EVENT INFO
Open to adults with less than one year of grappling experience (BJJ, Judo or wrestling). Register online at SmoothComp. Registration will close the Thursday before the competition. There will be no in-person registration the day of the event.
*It's been a minute since we've used SmoothComp, so we appreciate your patience with us while we navigate the technology. Brackets will not be posted online prior to the tournament.
DIVISIONS
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GI with weight classes
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NO-GI with weight classes
Due to the small number of participants in this tournament, divisions will be determined after all registrations have been completed (Madison bracketing). Our goal is to create divisions that allow each competitor to have as many matches as possible in a safe and challenging bracket. Competitors are matched with opponents of a similar size.
Divisions will be determined the day of the competition after weigh-ins.
FORMAT
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All brackets are double elimination/ round robin (depending on participant count) to give each competitor as many matches as possible.
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All matches will be 5 minutes.
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Our space allows for two matches to be running at the same time.
REGISTRATION PRICES
All registrations include 2 divisions.
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Early bird registration (until 1/18/25 at 11:59pm)= $65
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Regular registration (1/19/25-2/6/25) = $70
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Spectators = Free
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Parking = $10 per vehicle
*Parking is limited. Please consider car-pooling.
RULES
QUALIFICATIONS
> White belt in BJJ
> Competitors must have a cumulative 1 year or less of grappling experience (BJJ, Judo, or wrestling). Examples:
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3 months high school wrestling + 8 months BJJ = 11 months grappling experience = QUALIFIED!
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6 months BJJ as a 12-year old + 9 months BJJ as an adult = 15 months grappling experience = DISQUALIFIED
GI DIVISIONS: IBJJF POINT SYSTEM
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4 Points: Full mount, Back mount
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3 Points: Passing the guard, Passing the half guard
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2 Points: Takedown, Guard sweep, Half guard sweep, Knee on belly
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We will not be using advantages.
NO GI DIVISIONS: SUBMISSION-ONLY
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If no submission occurs within the 5-minute match, competitors will be reset standing and the first person to score a point (IBJJF ruleset) will win.
GI and NO GI UNIFORMS
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Any color gi is allowed.
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For No Gi divisions, any color rash guard or tight-fitting t-shirt may be worn.
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For No Gi divisions, shorts, board shorts, leggings, gi pants or any other athletic bottom without pockets or zippers may be worn.
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For No Gi divisions, competitors may not compete shirtless.
SCHEDULE
Saturday, February 8, 2025
9:30 am - Doors open, weigh-ins begin
10:30 am - All competitors must be checked-in
11:00 am - Matches begin
We cannot provide an estimate for an end-time of the event as it depends on the number of competitors signed up. Typically, our 50-person tournaments run until approximately 3:00 PM.
The Asheville Novice Championship is a fun, beginner-friendly tournament designed to help new grapplers get comfortable competing. It’s all about building skills, confidence, and resilience in a supportive environment. This isn’t a high-stakes event—just a chance to grow, learn, and maybe be crowned “King or Queen of the White Belts!”
REGISTER HERE
All registrations can now be completed online through SmoothComp.
Questions or concerns? Shoot us an email at amanda@opensourcebjj.net.