Katikati Jiu Jitsu Club Claims Gold at 2025 SJJIF World Championship

Katikati's Global Jiu Jitsu Academy (GJJA) has put their small Bay of Plenty town firmly on the international martial arts map, winning the prestigious Gold Teams Trophy at the 2025 SJJIF World Jiu Jitsu Championships held in Chiba, Japan, from 18–21 September.

Finishing first overall from 183 international teams and more than 5,500 athletes, GJJA took 40 male and female competitors to the event — including athletes from associate clubs HT Strength & Fitness in Rotorua and Pearce Martial Arts in Auckland, ranging in age from 12 to 56. The team secured more than 20 World Championship titles across the Kids, Juveniles, Adults and Masters divisions, with 10 of those gold medals coming home to Katikati.

Head coach and athlete Lance Campbell achieved double gold in both gi and nogi competition, cementing his status as a four-time SJJIF World Master champion. He also received the second-place overall Coach of the Year trophy. Campbell noted the Gold Teams Trophy was entirely unexpected — the club had won bronze the previous year and even that had come as a surprise.

All GJJA athletes self-funded their trips to Japan, supported only by modest internal fundraising including raffles featuring prizes donated by member-owned local businesses, and a private family sponsor. Campbell, who founded GJJA in Katikati about nine years ago after relocating from Auckland with his wife, credited the result to a club culture that challenges every athlete to believe anything is possible. "We've got so many talented kids and adults in this small town — it's incredible," he said.

Originally published in Katikati News (Sun Media).