The weekend of February 15th and 16th was a huge weekend for women in Jiu Jitsu. Almost 95 women joined together to participate in what seems to be the largest all women’s BJJ event to date anywhere in the world! The event organsed by purple belt Jess Fraser was a weekend camp that was open to all women of all ages and all levels from any academy. It was a weekend where everyone could get together and learn and share experiences with no politics and no competition. The head instructor, Australia’s first female Black Belt, Pan Am and No Gi World Champ Sophia McDermott Drysdale, taught two sessions each day and gave advice about training during pregnancy and dealing with the changes both physically and mentally of being a mother and and athlete.
AGIG is a huge community that provides support to all female Australian athletes and as a result the overall standard of women in jiu jitsu has increased dramatically. It is great to see the sport growing so rapidly where there are almost 100 women on the mat at one time.
Sophia McDermott Drysdale is scheduled to teach a camp in Mexico along side Makenzie Dern in July.