After a thorough review by the Maryland Athletic Commission, NAGA is being permitted to run a grappling tournament on Saturday, October 10, 2009 in Landover, Maryland at the Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex.  Because NAGA is a nationally recognized amateur organization it is exempt from the authority of the Maryland Athletic Commission.

We appreciate the commissions’ speedy review and approval of this event. NAGA looks forward to doing future events in Maryland.

2009 NAGA D.C. GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIP On Saturday, October 10, 2009, NAGA debuts in the Washington, D.C. area with the much anticipated, NAGA D.C. Grappling Championship.  The event will take place in Landover, MD just minutes outside of Washington, D.C.  NAGA is very excited to hold a tournament in this region of the United States. This tournament is open to all grappling styles and competitors, you do not need to be on a team or be a member of any organization to compete.  NAGA welcomes both individuals and teams to compete. This event is nationally RANKED. DOWNLOAD EVENT FLYER/REGISTRATION FORM Pre-registration is now closed. You can still register/weigh-in on Friday (10/9/09) from 5-8PM at the venue, or on Saturday beginning at 8AM (up till your division begins). The entry fees are: $80 - 1 division; $100 - 2 divisions; $15 - spectator ticket.

SAMURAI SWORDS TO ALL 1ST PLACE WINNERS
NAGA will be handing out custom engraved SAMURAI SWORDS to ALL children, teen, adult, master, director & executive Gi & No-Gi 1st place winners! All 2nd and 3rd place winners will take home beautiful octagon medals. All children regardless if they place (1^st through 3^rd) will receive a medal just for having the courage to compete!

TREMENDOUS VENUE!
The Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex’s Fieldhouse is a fantastic venue to hold a grappling tournament.  There is plenty of elevated bleacher seating, and enough floor space to allow for the set up of 14 competition rings.  This is a clean facility with plenty of parking and concessions.

WHY THE WASHINGTON D.C. AREA?
This area of the country is a hotbed of grappling competitors.  Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and the other surrounding states have competitors that travel all over the East Coast (and beyond) to compete in NAGA tournaments.  You have requested NAGA come to D.C. and we are happy to finally be able to bring NAGA to D.C.

WEIGH-IN ON FRIDAY OR SATURDAY
NAGA will be offering all competitors the option of registering and weighing-in the night BEFORE the tournament from 5-8PM.  If you cannot make it on Friday, all competitors can register/weigh-in all day on Saturday beginning at 8 AM. 

14 COMPETITION RINGS
NAGA is aware that a day of grappling can be a long one with thousands of matches occurring during the day.  To help expedite the tournament, NAGA runs as many competition rings as possible.  The size of this facility allows us to run 14 competition rings at once.  This will mean an earlier finish time.  This is beneficial to those who travel far distances and need to get back home that evening, and families in general.

NATIONALLY RANKED EVENT
All NAGA events are part of the nationwide ranking system entitled RANKED. Our goal is to determine who the best grapplers in the country are for various age, gender, and skill levels. This NAGA event will be nationally ranked so do not miss your opportunity to gain points towards a true national title. More details can be found at www.nationallyranked.com.

SANDBAGGERS BEWARE
NAGA works diligently to prevent "sandbagging", or the practice of fighting down skill levels to ensure one takes home an award. NAGA has been working with RANKED to track all fighters and ranked grappling events to produce true "national standings." A by-product of these standings is our knowledge of who has competed and at which level. Front door personnel will use RANKED data to determine whether or not individuals who have fought in past events belong in a higher skill level (i.e. placed 1st at a prior NAGA event).