The Australian Beach Sambo Championships were held on 22nd March at Glenelg, a beach in the centre of Adelaide in a competition supported by the local council with athletes of various age categories from three states: Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

Ilya Degroot and Jordan Hamilton were the winners in the men's -71kg and -79kg categories respectively. The 13-year-old Degroot defeated Cessar Pacheco in the only bout of the -71kg category. 

Hamilton was the winner of the three-man round robin. Sajjad Kazemi won two gold medals in the senior +98 kg and open categories. "SAMBO South Australia won the most gold medals in the cadet and junior categories. 

37-year-old Sajjad Kazmei (blue) won two gold medals at the tournament. FIAS
37-year-old Sajjad Kazmei (blue) won two gold medals at the tournament. FIAS

"The National Beach SAMBO competitions were held in Adelaide for the second time with around 40 competitors registered for the tournament. Taking into account the growing interest in this sport, we are planning to diversify the tournament next year with a wide entertainment programme for the spectators," said Savely Timofeev, President of the Sambo Federation of Australia. 

He also said that before the start of the championship in Adelaide, a refereeing seminar was organised, in which specialists from different states of the country took part. Those who attended the seminar were introduced to the basic rules of SAMBO, the work and peculiarities of refereeing in three SAMBO disciplines: Sport, Combat and Beach.