Girls in Gis held its first event outside of Texas on February 24, 2013. One hundred girls registered from across Colorado, two from Wyoming and two from Texas to celebrate the first event of its kind in the state of Colorado. The event also benefited the local women’s shelter SafeHouse Denver. Unfortunately, only thirty-two participants braved the hazardous weather conditions, which later turned into a blizzard, to come to GIG-Denver. But the energy was high and everyone was ready to have some real fun. The Girls in Gis-Den
ver event was hosted by Easton Training Center and led by the skilled and talent women on the Easton Training Center team.
It began with an introduction to GIG, explaining where we started and our goals. After the introductions and “getting to know each other” portion of the event, the warm up began. The warm up was led by Lana Hunter and Shama Ko. The warm up not only got participants ready for the instructional portion of the event but also built camaraderie.
After the warm up groups were separated by experience levels and ages. The kids group was led by James Bollinger, the advanced group by Li
z Tran and beginners by Rossie Snow. Liz, Rossie and James all stepped up to bat and knocked it out of the park! A few of our hosts Milly Malloy and Heather Schmitz weren’t able to make it due to the bad weather, but their roles and efforts from the beginning greatly contributed to GIG-Denver’s success.
After the instructional portion of the event, it was time for giveaways and challenges. First up were the Eidos Clothing Company Duck Walk Races and raffles. Congratulations to Shana Cox and Katie Brothnick on winning the raffle and to Sandra George on winning the Eidos Clothing Company Duck Walk Races and the Eidos hoodie!
Next were the Neocell Forward and Backward Races. The winner, Isabel Ranney although still dizzy when she accepted her prize, was able to hold the bountiful Neocell basket while keeping her lunch down. This is how we roll at GIG!
Then came the Bear Crawl races for our little Girls in Gis. It was a close race so Hannah and Aidan both tied for a GIG tee! Congratulations girls!!!
It wouldn’t be a Girls in Gis event without the support of Fenom Kimonos. Liz Tran won the GIG-Denver burpee challenge and the awesome Fenom Kimonos gi giveaway!
Forever Young Body Clinic also raffled off two $50 gift certificates to Liz Tran and Isabel Ranney. The Scentsy pot was raffled off to Natay Storie. The winner of the Mean Streak Pix photo package was Courtney King! All participants went home with a goodie bag filled with swag from Lara Bar, Defense Soap and Forever Young Body Clinic along with 50% off competitor fees at the Fight to Win Tournament of Champions 12 which was held on February 23, 2013. Participants also were given a 50% off coupon for Forever Young Body Clinic. Snacks were provided by Lara Bar and Easton Training Cente
r.
Together GIG participants raised $155 and a box of in-kind donations for SafeHouse Denver. We know quite a few of you weren’t able to make the event due to the weather and we would like to make it up to you. GIG will be hosting another event in Colorado, possibly in the spring or summer next time! We will have more details available soon!
A very big thank you to all our wonderful sponsors: Defense Soap, Fight to Win, Fenom Kimonos, Forever Young Body Clinic, Lara Bar, Scentsy, Mean Streak Pix, T/aco and Eidos Clothing. We are so grateful for all for your donations and support. We would also like to thank Easton Training Center and the Easton Training Center women’s team for all you did to make this event a success.
And finally, it wouldn’t have been a Girls in Gis event if not for all of you awesome girls in Colorado who joined us despite of the ice, sleet and snow. Most of all thank you to the Colorado Jiu-Jitsu community. It was all of us working together that made this possible!