Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners from all over the Lower Mainland (British Columbia) made their way to Gravity BJJ in Surrey, BC in an attempt to beat up cancer one submission at a time.
The month of November is known by many these days as “Movember”, so Gravity BJJ owners Logan Lidemark and Sofie Zambas took it a step further when it came to fundraising for cancer research. This past weekend (Nov.23-24), their Surrey gym played host to the 2nd annual Movember Rollathon.
The BJJ community is meant to be tight knit, but many times it’s not that way, so an event like this is huge. With over 15-schools being represented it shows that not only is the jiu-jitsu scene down for some rolling, but also down to raise some money for a great cause.
“Gravity BJJ’s 2nd annual Movember fundraiser is a great event for the local BJJ community. Its an opportunity for people from the BJJ scene to get together (regardless of team/club) and have an awesome time on the mats all while helping a great cause. I had a great time at the event…Logan and Sofie are great host’s and harbor a really friendly and playful BJJ environment, which is another bonus to an already stellar event!” – Jason Gagnon, Head Coach at Genesis Martial Arts and Fitness
The “Rollathon” got under way Saturday morning at 7am and at 9am there was a slight pause for the children to participate. This was a great opportunity for the kids to do some fundraising, but it was also a first for the local scene – generally speaking children do not cross-train with other gyms.
“Big thanks to Sofie and Logan for hosting the Movember Rollathon. I believe this was the first time two different kids Jiu Jitsu clubs came together to train and all for a terrific cause! Our Apex kids had an awesome time cross training with the Gravity Crew.” Marcy Hilario, Owner at Apex Martial Arts
The adults got back to rolling at 10am – continued through the evening and morning when it all wrapped up at 7am Sunday. Along the way there were prizes given out from some generous sponsors that Gravity BJJ was able to lock down which included Gi-Soap, Natures Path, Fushida, Oss Gear, Gameness, Tatami Fightwear and Katana BJJ.
“Gravity BJJ would like to thank the entire jiu jitsu community near and far for supporting this special event. It meant a lot to us that so many schools participated. Your donations will go towards a good cause and we hope this will only be the start of spreading the word about men’s health. To our generous sponsors: The awesome design work of Meerkatsu and media help from Can sonmez, OSS gear, Gameness fight wear, tatami fight wear, katana fight wear, Bjj depot, Fushida sports corp, gi-soap, natures path organics and Bacardi, your generosity meant a lot to us and we are truly grateful for the prizes!! Thank you so much!!” Sofie Zambas, Owner at Gravity BJJ
After all was said and done, the fundraising effort was a complete success with over 200 people walking through the door and more than $4000 donated to go to “Movember and sons charity” with proceeds going to prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men’s health.
Since the Movember movement lasts until the end of November, you can still donate to the Gravity BJJ team HERE. You can also pick up a 2nd annual Movember Rollathon t-shirt to support the cause HERE.
