SUBMITTED
12 Wing club wins medals at national CAF grappling event
By Ryan Melanson,
Trident Staff
MCPL ALEX GAGNON
More than 100 grapplers from across the Canadian Armed Forces recently came together for a day of friendly competition and intense hand-to-hand combat training, with the local 12 Wing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club once again proving they’re among the best in the CAF.
The annual Military Combatives Grappling Concentration (MCGC) was held on June 22 at Garrison Petawawa. The event was established in 2013 by Senior Military Combatives Instructor LCol Steve Burgess, and has grown each year, with grappling gaining popularity in the CAF and small clubs being established at bases across the country.
Members of the 12 Wing Club have become regular contenders at the MCGC in recent years, and team captain PO2 Greg Fillmore entered this year’s tournament hoping to defend his title of Absolute Champion – the MCGC’s top overall award – from the 2018 event. While that wasn’t possible due to an injury suffered in competition, PO2 Fillmore was still able to take the gold medal in his 205 lbs Advanced division before being forced to bow out,
Other wins for 12 Wing club members included a gold medal for MCpl Gordon Power (145 lbs Beginner), bronze medal wins for Cpl Stephen Cannell (145 lbs Intermediate), MCpl Ron Dixon 9 (160lbs Advanced), and Lt Christopher Dube (190 lbs Advanced), with MCpl Eric Nevitt just missing the bronze in his fourth place finish in the 175 lbs Advanced division.
“This was another great year for the team,” said PO2 Fillmore, who’ll be saying goodbye to his Jiu-Jitsu teammates as he prepares for an upcoming posting to Saint-Jean. Anyone looking to contact the club or give Jiu-Jitsu a try can reach out to team coach MCpl Mark Pinsent at Mark.Pinsent@forces.gc.ca. The club meets in the evenings at 6 p.m. from Monday – Thursday in the basement of the Shearwater Fitness and Sports Centre, and often participates in local civilian grappling and Jiu-Jitsu competitions.
As for the national tournament, Organizers in Petawawa thanked everyone involved for making the MCGC a reality and helping the event grow each year, including the 111 grappling participants, staff, volunteers and officials, Chief Referee Capt James Locke, as well as Army Public Affairs for providing support and live stream coverage.
