On 15 September, IBJJF announced Larissa Dias for the 2026 Crown, scheduled for 8 November at the Pyramid in Long Beach, California. The official announcement introduces her through career context as well as the upcoming appearance.
For an emerging grappler, that raises a useful question: if an organiser asked for your biography today, what would you send? An old social caption may be personal but miss essential details. A list of medals may be accurate but say little about the person competing. Prepare a short bio that someone can use without having to reconstruct your career.
Start with one reliable master version
Keep an editable document with your preferred public name, pronunciation guidance if useful, current academy, competition focus and a few dated achievements. Add a sentence about what you are working towards. Record the date you last checked the information.
Next to each result, keep the official link and full division details for your own reference. That gives you enough context to describe a title precisely when shortening the text. A past achievement should retain its year and relevant category after a promotion or change of division.
Write in the third person when preparing text for an organiser: “[Name] is…” It gives them copy they can adapt for a programme or introduction. Keep your first-person story for places where you are speaking directly to your audience.
Prepare three lengths for three jobs
One sentence: your name, current sporting identity and one relevant detail. Use it for a short introduction. A suggested structure is: “[Name] is a [gi/no-gi] competitor based in [place], representing [academy], with [specific achievement or current goal].” Replace the placeholders with facts; this is a writing template, not a real athlete profile.
About 75 words: explain who you are, include one or two relevant achievements and say what comes next. This version can accompany an event listing or a brief partner introduction. Choose the facts that matter to that reader rather than squeezing in every result.
About 150 words: add the human context you are comfortable making public. Perhaps you balance competition with a job, started in a particular local community or recently moved into a new competitive category. Explain why that detail matters to your journey. These lengths are practical starting points, not platform limits or organiser requirements.
Keep your personality without writing your own hype
Replace labels such as “unstoppable” with details a reader can understand. A specific milestone or a clear next goal gives your introduction substance. You can sound ambitious without declaring yourself a future champion.
Read the text aloud. Would you feel comfortable hearing an announcer introduce you this way? Remove language you would have to explain away. Personal context is optional: you do not owe an audience private family information or a dramatic origin story.
Make the handoff easy to manage
Ask which length and language the organiser needs and when the text is due. Send the selected version as copyable text, with a dated filename or document heading. If you also supply a photograph, include its credit and agreed usage separately.
Keep a note of who received which version. When a meaningful detail changes, update your master document and tell contacts preparing an upcoming feature. Avoid leaving several differently named “final” biographies in circulation.
Our take: keep your introduction ready for the next opportunity
A useful bio saves you from rewriting your story under time pressure. The aim is a recognisable, accurate introduction that you can adapt while protecting time for training.
- Gather the facts. Check your current academy, competition category and two results against your records.
- Write three versions. Prepare one sentence, around 75 words and around 150 words from the same information.
- Read them aloud. Check that each sounds like you and clearly separates achievements from ambitions.
- Date and store the original. Keep one editable master and record where you send it.
This week: finish the shortest version first, then add the longer bio to your media kit.