Most major BJJ tournaments are getting canceled as the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread, but Polaris has announced that its thirteenth major event will still be moving forward, albeit with some significant changes.
The event will now take place behind closed doors and feature only athletes based out of the UK. In a social media post from the promotion, director Matthew Benyon said, “We felt the need to continue to provide jiu jitsu competitors with a way to earn money and promote themselves while many of them have been forced to close their schools and lose their only income stream. Polaris also has a number of staff and contractors who need to continue to earn to survive.
UK competitors have been very keen to continue to compete and earn in as safe a manner as possible. The event will be held behind closed doors with no audience. Staff and crew will be at an absolute minimum for the show with a doctor on site to provide medical advice, with person to person contact being kept to the bare minimum required for the event.”
Benyon also replied to a comment on the post asking if the competitors would be tested for COVID-19, citing a lack of publicly available tests.
The promotion will be issuing full refunds for ticketholders.
Polaris 13 will take place on April 4 in Wales. Those hoping to watch the event can do so on UFC Fight Pass.
