The Inaugural Dale Jr. Grappling Classic was such a huge success that organizers were able to donate $2,000 from the proceeds of raffles and auctions held throughout the Jiu Jitsu tournament on January 25th at the Cabarrus County Arena to CVAN, a domestic violence service for women. The planning committees are currently working on the plans for any future events. “We’re happy with the results from the first tournament,” Kelley Earnhardt, of JR Motorsports said. “There are some things that we need to change for next year, but we think this inaugural event went off without any major snares.. Everyone pitched in and did a great job working the event.” Dale Jr., who brought along his posse of friends to see the action, enjoyed the event from the suites above the grandstands at the Cabarrus Arena. Earnhardt Jr, also had the privilege of meeting several of the competitors that afternoon while watching the action live from beside the mats on the floor area. “There was a lot more involved in this competition that I had ever thought,” Earnhardt Jr., said. “It was cool to see first hand what these guys, women and children have to do to make it through one of these tournaments. The children wanted to win just as bad as the adults did. Some of the fights went on and on because the competition was so close. The fans would go wild in the stands yelling for their favorite grappler. All in all, the event went well.. We enjoyed watching the stiff competition and the superfights at the end of the night. Many of the competitors stayed around until late into the night to observe the superfight competition.. The results of the superfight are as follows: · Saulo Ribeiro defeated Todd Margolis · Daniel Moraes defeated Jorge Gurgel · Mark Laimon and Marcelo Clemente was determined a draw. Check www.dalejrgrapplingcalssic.com for future details about upcoming events.(PR)(2-20-2003)
