Every ADCC Open tournament in North and South America will now be employing a brand new official code of conduct, according to a recent announcement by ADCC themselves. This won’t be applying to any Open events outside of those two continents, as those done elsewhere are usually organized by smaller branches of ADCC using the same branding. It’s unclear whether they will eventually be following suit or maybe adapting some of the rules included to come out with something similar, but it wouldn’t be surprising. The IBJJF already has explicit rules around conduct that stretch to every event they host around the world, so this is a welcome change for ADCC.
Given that ADCC are rapidly becoming a major player in the world of lower-level competitors, a code of conduct is absolutely vital. It’s something that professional events can often get away with missing due to the fact that they they’re dealing with only a handful of matches between professional competitors, but local opens can’t afford the same lax attitude. With dozens of events every year all around the world, ADCC Opens now play host to thousands of matches between competitors at all levels. From young children to aspiring teenagers and from adult beginners to rising stars, everyone at a local tournament benefits from guidance like this.
Although it’s great news that ADCC are making an important move like this, it also really was needed. As they’ve increased the number of Open events they’ve staged in recent years, they’ve also seen an increase in public incidents. One of the most notable incidents came at the Las Vegas Open in 2022, when a fight broke out between competitors and one coach allegedly pulled out a knife when people intervened. There have also been several moments of unsportsmanlike behaviour that have gone viral since then and police were even called after a fight at the Dallas Open last year. To their credit; ADCC have always been quick to ban offending athletes, but this now sets their principles out clearly for everyone.
ADCC announced their full official code of conduct for Open events in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
