Jiu-Jitsu fever will take over Fujairah as the second round of the Vice President’s Cup kicks off on Friday at the Zayed Sports Complex in Fujairah.

The Vice President’s Cup is an important stop on the 2019-2020 Jiu-Jitsu calendar and has been organized by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation and will provide a valuable opportunity for a large section of the Jiu-Jitsu community and various sports clubs to compete for the prestigious title.

The Vice President’s Cup will be conducted in an open belt format across the different weights, allowing competitors holding different belts to face-off against each other. The tournament will have three age categories - men’s (over 18), under-21, and under-18. The men’s and under-21 category will see competitions spread across seven weight classes ranging from 56 kg to 110 kg.

The under-18 category will have seven divisions from 46 kg to 94 kg. The duration of the bouts for the under-18 category will be four minutes, the under-21 category will have five-minute bouts, while the men’s category will see athletes competing in six-minute bouts. The official weigh-in for the Vice President’s Cup will begin at 11 AM on December 13, with bouts beginning at 2 PM on the same day.

The second round of the Vice President’s Cup comes in the wake of an extremely successful run by the UAE National Team in the recently-concluded Ju-Jitsu World Championship in Abu Dhabi, where the UAE National Team won 52 medals which included 18 Golds, 14 Silvers, and 20 Bronze.

Youseff Abdullah Al Batran, board member of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation said that the timing of the second round of the Vice President’s Cup and the euphoria around the successes of the UAE National Team in the World Championship would be beneficial for the further development of Jiu-Jitsu in the country and also provide an excellent platform for elite competition.

“The Vice President’s Cup brings the best of Jiu-Jitsu talent from across the many different sports clubs in our country on a common platform. It is a great initiative of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation to provide regular high-quality competitions like these which help our athletes to constantly improve their game. Fujairah will be host to a tournament that will attract several high-quality athletes and this is a great way to further popularize a sport that has already created a deep connection with the people of our country,” he said.

The second round of the Vice President’s Cup will see a fierce competition with athletes from 16 clubs across the UAE will take to the mats in Fujairah. The participating clubs are Al Ain, Al Jazira, Al Wahda, Emirates, Al Wasl, Fujairah Martial Arts, AFNT, Baniyas, Ajman, Al Ahly Youth Club Dubai, Sharjah Sports Club, Team 777, Commando Group, Al Dhafra, Sharjah Club for Self Defense Sports, and Al Nasr.

The Vice President’s Cup will see a number of distinguished and talented players in action with Al Wahda fielding UAE National Team regulars Zayed Al Katheeri, Mohammed Al Hashemi, Hazza Al Qubaisi, Hamed Al Hinai, Saif Theban, and Mohammed Al Amiri. Al Ain will also put up a strong challenge having listed Khaled Al Shehhi, Khasib Al Meqbali, Maher Taher, Mohamed Al Qubaisi and Saeed Al Haj on their roster.

Salem Ali Zayed, Omar Al Suwaidi, Majid Al Shehhi, Mahdi Al Awlaki, and Muhammad Al Suwaidi will be leading the charge for Baniyas, while Saleh Al Dharaibi from Al Jazira, Saif Al Mansoori from Commandos, and Mohammed Al Menhali from AFNT will be looking to add to the Gold medals they won in the first round of the Vice President’s Cup.