If ever you’ve witnessed a local or international Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition then you will understand the popularity of the kids and teenage competition scene. Due to the number of youngsters that compete, it’s not unusual to see more kids at a competition than it is with adults. Further, you’ve probably witnessed the incredible skill level that some children possess, even at a very young age. This article is designed to give parents an outline of the weight categories, age brackets and also the time limits of each match.
These details all differ for the age of the competitor in question as well as other factors such as weight. It’s also worth noting that usually even at local competitions that these rules can be very strict. Even if your child is merely 1KG over their weight limit, they will often be disqualified after weighing in with no refund. This may sound harsh, but obviously, these rules are in place for a reason and that is to keep matches as fair and competitive as possible.
Table of Contents
Weight and age brackets
| Pee Wee 1 (4 & 5 years) | Pee Wee 2 (6 & 7 years) | Junior 1 (8 & 9 years) | Junior 2 (10 & 11 years) | Teen 1 (12 & 13 years) | Teen 2 (14 & 15 years) | Juvenile (16 & 17 years) |
| -30KG | -38KG | -42KG | -55KG | |||
| -24KG | -34KG | -42KG | -46KG | -60KG | ||
| -27KG | -38KG | -46KG | -50KG | -65KG | ||
| -21KG | -30KG | -42KG | -50KG | -55KG | -70KG | |
| -24KG | -34KG | -46KG | -55KG | -60KG | -75KG | |
| -27KG | -38KG | -50KG | -60KG | -65KG | -80KG | |
| -21KG | -30KG | -42KG | -55KG | -65KG | -70KG | -85KG |
| Over 21KG | Over 30KG | Over 42KG | Over 55KG | Over 65KG | Over 70KG | Over 85KG |
What if there is no one in my weight or age division?
As mentioned earlier, most competitions are quite strict when it comes to enforcing their rules. With this said, it’s never best to assume and if you have specific questions, ideally you should contact the specific promotion before turning up on the day to avoid disappointment. Anyway, as a general rule the same principles apply for children as they do for adults when it comes to weight.
This means, a 30KG competitor is freely allowed to compete in weight classes above, however they are not allowed to compete in a weight class below. Remember, some promotions may have their own rules whereby kids can’t compete in an upper weight class due to safety reasons so it’s best to check beforehand.
When it comes to age, you cannot compete in the age bracket below. For instance, a Junior 1 athlete cannot fight in the Pee wee category. Usually, if there is no one in the correct age category, the child will be given a refund, albeit this is at the digression of the promotion. Due to the popularity of most kid’s competitions, usually, these issues aren’t very common, however.
Time duration of each match
| Pee Wee 1 (4 & 5 years) | Pee Wee 2 (6 & 7 years) | Junior 1 (8 & 9 years) | Junior 2 (10 & 11 years) | Teen 1 (12 & 13 years) | Teen 2 (14 & 15 years) | Juvenile (16 & 17 years) |
| 2 Minutes | 3 Minutes | 3 Minutes | 4 Minutes | 4 Minutes | 4 Minutes | 5 Minutes |
This time is the maximum time limit of each match. For instance, if no-one has been submitted in the Pee wee 1 category, then the match will end at the 2 minute mark.
Can other belts compete against each other?
In major IBJJF competitions such as Worlds and Euros, this is not allowed. However, some smaller promotions do sometimes merge belts if there is a lack of competitors at each rank. For instance, if there are no orange belts, then an orange belt may be allowed to compete with green belts and so on. Once more, this is dependent on the promotion. For more information on the rules of kid’s competitions, check out our article on what is legal and what isn’t.
