Hayley Picks up Bronze in Rome

Gracie Barra Isle of Man was represented by Hayley Curtis and Callum Perry at the largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Nogi Tournament in Europe last week where members took part in the IBJJF Nogi European Championship over four days in Rome.

The club’s trip was sponsored by Hartford Homes.

The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation is the leading tournament organisation for Gi (wearing the Kimono) and Nogi (rashguard and shorts) in the world.

Featherweight Hayley Curtis has previously won the British Championship and medalled at the European Championships and has been very active on the competition circuit this year having fought in nine tournaments so far in 2023. Several factors affected the start of her match in her division and meant she took default Bronze but qualified for the Absolute Category which mixes all ages and weights against those who have medalled in their respective weight divisions. Disappointed with the result within her division, Hayley faced a middleweight medalist in the Absolute Quarterfinals and very quickly channelled that energy into a powerhouse performance, dominating the heavier opponent from the start and convincingly winning with a seven point lead by the end of the match.

She faced the Super Heavyweight European Champion in the semi-final and the odds were stacked against her. However, propelled from her earlier performance she countered everything the significantly heavier opponent had to offer and took the lead on points shortly after a hitting an almost impossible reversal from a bottom position. Unfortunately, the tables turned late on and the Super Heavyweight managed to win by just two points. The match was a highlight of the day and talked about amongst many spectators, coaches and competitors as a great example of how technique had for most of the match overcome strength and weight.

Hayley Curtis (R) takes on the Super Heavyweight European Champion

Middleweight Callum Perry took the place of injured teammate Colin Everden on two weeks notice but put everything into his training in that time and with credit to him had remained consistent with his training  throughout 2023. A large bracket saw Callum take on a very experienced Dagestan grappler in the qualifying rounds which made for an exciting exchange of takedowns and strategic positioning.

Unfortunately, Callum just lost out on points in a division which saw his opponent ultimately win silver in the final. It was very apparent that Callum deserved to be there performing so well at that level.

Gracie Barra Isle of Man has sent Squads to the IBJJF Gi European Championship 2023 in Paris where they brought home a European Champion and several medalists, this IBJJF Nogi European Championship 2023 in Rome and still have the IBJJF Kids European Championship 2023 in Dublin along with the IBJJF Nogi World Championship 2023 in Las Vegas in December still to attend in what has already been an incredible year.

Hayley Curtis wins Bronze

Head coach Conrad Roberts who accompanied the pair said: ‘I am immensely proud of their performances, their attitude to training and how professionally they represented the Squad and the Isle of Man.  Amongst watching IBJJF and ADCC World Champions compete at the event from around the World and from all Affiliations we were able to speak and spend time with some of the sport’s best competitors and coaches. It was truly an international large scale event unmatched in  most other combat sports.’