Sophia and the Australian Girls in Gis camp. Photo: Personal Archive
The weekend of Feb. 15-16 was a huge weekend for women in Jiu-Jitsu. Almost 95 women joined together to participate in one of the largest women’s BJJ event in the world! The event organized 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 champion Sophia McDermott Drysdale, taught two sessions each day and gave advice about training during pregnancy. She also shared how to deal with the changes both physically and mentally of being a mother and an athlete.
Australian Girls in Gis 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,” says Sophia.
In July, Sophia is scheduled to teach a camp in Mexico alongside Mackenzie Dern.
For more information about Sophi McDermott Drysdale and her home of GMA Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu in Las Vegas, visit www.drysdalebjj.com
