Martial arts club celebrates national success with 24-medal haul

A Small team of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitors from Frome has returned from the National Masters BJJ Championships with 24 medals and three team trophies.

Gracie Barra Frome took just 14 competitors to the Elite BJJ Events National Masters BJJ Championships, held at Aldersley Sports Centre in Wolverhampton, competing against much larger teams.

Between them, the Frome team entered 30 divisions across Gi and No-Gi competition, including weight and open-weight Absolute categories.

Despite the relatively small squad, Gracie Barra Frome finished 1st in the No-Gi team standings, 3rd in the Gi team standings and 2nd overall across the competition, missing the overall team title by just six points.

“We were incredibly happy to perform so well against substantially larger teams at an event featuring 125 separate academies,” said owner and head instructor Callum Swift, known to his students as Coach Cal.

Among the standout performances was Rich Oakley, who entered his first-ever Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition and came away with two gold medals, winning both his Gi and No-Gi weight divisions.

Blue belt Alexander Smith also enjoyed an impressive day, collecting three gold medals and one bronze across his divisions. His victories included winning the open-weight No-Gi Absolute division, where competitors are not separated by weight.

Simon Travers secured two gold medals, including victory in the open-weight Gi Absolute division, while Daniel Kious also collected two gold medals and a silver.

David Clay, competing in the Master 6 category, collected four medals across Gi and No-Gi. Known as ‘Uncle Dave’ because of his advanced age, David also deliberately moved up a weight category for his two main divisions, meaning he was giving away weight to his opponents.

For several members of the squad, simply stepping onto the competition mats represented a significant personal milestone. Peter Aybar, Rich Oakley, Jon Garner-Richardson and Benjamin Aluwihare were all competing for the first time, with Benjamin also securing a silver medal on his competitive debut.

The National Masters Championships was particularly well suited to the Frome academy, where a large proportion of the adult membership is aged over 30. The club fielded competitors across the full Masters spectrum, from Master 1 through to Master 6.

“Finishing just six points away from winning the overall team title with only 14 competitors gives us a lot of confidence about what this team can achieve,” added Cal.

“Those trophies represent everyone who contributed to getting the team there, and hopefully there will be plenty more trophies and medals for everyone to share in the future.”

Gracie Barra Frome previously won the team title at the British BJJ Open in 2022 and has continued to achieve strong results at local competitions.

The academy is now looking to close out its 2026 competition season strongly, with further open competitions in Bristol and Reading among the events being considered and is already targeting the 2027 British Open, with ambitions to field junior, teen, adult and Masters teams and challenge for multiple team trophies.