T'was the night before the Mundial

Another busy day at the store. There was a referee certification course there for most of the day; the students were in a circle in the middle of the store (we have puzzle mats on the floor, so people could ask questions and demonstrate the moves they had questions about). Alvaro Mansor ran the workshop. He is the same person who ran the workshop I took in Santa Cruz last year. It's an interesting session, even if you aren't planning to become a referee.

Lots more people came in to shop as well, including people from Canada, Tahiti, Japan, and I think Finland. I spoke with someone who keeps up with my blog and told me he's a fan. That was the first time I had met a fan in person. I said, "Oh, it's nice to meet you! I'm Val." And he said, "Yeah, I know." (I forgot. :)

I'm feeling a little guilty because everyone who works at the store is going to be at a Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear booth selling stuff all weekend--everyone except me. I'll be cheering teammates on and competing when I'm not doing that. My weight division is on Friday at 13:30am, and the women's purple belt open division is on Saturday.

Here are the brackets:

http://www.ibjjf.org/cgi-bin/montachaves.asp

For me, choose "purple belt," "adult," "female," and "middle" for my weight class or "open class" for the absolute. Somehow I ended up with the name Worthington Valer. Not sure how; probably filled out the form incorrectly.

So it's going to be an overwhelming weekend. I'm excited and anxious and know I need to get enough rest. On that note, off to sleep before an early morning. White belt divisions start tomorrow at 9am!