World’s Largest All-Female Tournament Sees Record Participation and Raises $25,000 for Cancer

The Riverside (Calif.) Youth Judo Club hosted its 7th Annual “Fight for the Cure” All Women’s Charity Breast & Ovarian Cancer Judo Tournament at Norte Vista High School on October 27. More than 330 female competitors participated to make the event, by all accounts, the largest all-female judo tournament in the world. This year’s event raised $25,000 with all proceeds donated to The Pink Ribbon Place Riverside and The CARE Project, Inc. In the seven years since its inception, the Fight for the Cure has raised more than $106,000 for breast cancer charities.

The Pink Ribbon Place is a cancer resource center in Riverside that provides counseling services and support groups to individuals diagnosed with cancer as well as their families and caregivers. It also runs strength rebuilding classes and manages an American Cancer Society wig bank and a bra bank that offers breast prosthesis and mastectomy bras.

The CARE Project, Inc., is a Riverside-based non-profit organization created by a breast cancer survivor to emotionally and financially support male and female breast cancer patients. In addition to emotional support and mentoring for ailing individuals, The Care Project strives to fill the gaps when other resources fall short. To that end, it assists with grants for utility bills, rental assistance, co-pays, gift cards for groceries and household items, and compression sleeves. Uber, Lyft and fuel cards filter into the mix to assist with transportation.

“In 2016, we decided to host a charity judo tournament,” said Brian Money (Riverside, Calif.), program director for Riverside Youth Judo. “We chose breast and ovarian cancer relief as our cause.  We decided that the tournament should focus on female competitors and our male judo folks could support the cause as referees, coaches, poolers, scorers and other various assignments.”

Around 100 female competitors took part the first year. A pre-event judo clinic was started in 2017 and is open to both males and females. The clinic is free for competitors in the event, otherwise there is a $25 fee.

Clinic instructors this year included Olympic bronze medalist and world silver medalist Marti Malloy (Long Beach, Calif. / NYAC / San Jose State University), three-time Olympian and World Cup gold medalist Angelica Delgado (Miami, Fla. / NYAC / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center), and 2024 Junior World Team member and U.S. Open gold medalist Jasmine Macias (La Puente, Calif. / Guerreros Judo Club).

“It was my first time being part of the event and I can honestly say it was an amazing experience and I was so honored to be one of the clinicians,” said Delgado. “It’s the largest women’s only tournament in the country. When I was growing up in judo we didn’t have as many women in the sport to look up to. It was incredible to have over 300 female judokas on the mat and competing for a great cause like finding the cure for breast and ovarian cancer. I will definitely be back again next year. They can always count on my support.”

The medal designs for the event have also evolved over the years.

“In the early years of the Fight for the Cure we used basic breast cancer themes on our medals,” said Money. “In 2022, we decided to start placing top-level female judo players on our medals. In 2022, our medals featured Dr. AnnMaria DeMars. In 2023, we featured a picture of Ronda Rousey on our medals as she stopped by the tournament for an appearance.”

This year’s medal featured Malloy who has been a fixture at the event since 2018.

“I have been a part of the tournament for a few years now and I look forward to it every year,” said Malloy. “The positive energy in the room, coming together to do judo and honor a good cause, being among friends and so many other women and men who love judo is absolute joy. This year was extra sweet because I got to host a clinic before the event with Junior World Team member Jasmine Macias who is a rising Judo star from California, and my best friend Angelica Delgado who is coming back from her third Olympic Games in Paris. There was so much love and excitement in the gym. Shout out to Brian Money and Riverside Judo for another fantastically run event.”

The Fight for the Cure features several divisions from 3-4 years old and up, including standard competitive divisions as well as adaptive divisions. Thirty-eight of this year’s female competitors had special needs.

“We also started a ‘Mom’s Judo’ division about four years ago that allows our awesome judo moms a chance to compete without the risks of being significantly injured,” noted Money. “The Mom’s Division is newaza (ground fighting) only and does not allow chokes or armbars. The competitors win by pin only and we had 25 competitors in this division.” 

Thirty-one youth from the PlayLA Youth Sports Program also took part in the competition, garnering 25 medals (9 gold, 10 silver and 6 bronze) and winning two team trophies for placing first in the team standings and being the top contributing club. PlayLA provides affordable and accessible programming to kids of all abilities throughout Los Angeles and is funded through the LA28 Games and the International Olympic Committee.

Since its inception in 2019, USA Judo has continued to grow the PlayLA Judo Program in Los Angeles through its partnership with the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department which was spearheaded by Pasadena Kodokan Judo Dojo instructor Michael Verdugo and USA Judo CEO Keith Bryant, and supported by funding from LA 2028. Judo is currently being taught in 22 recreation centers throughout greater Los Angeles where more than 7,000 youth have been introduced to the sport, with PlayLA paying for the judogis, mats and instructors.

"PlayLA is about knocking down barriers," says PlayLA Chief Operations Officer Austin Dumas. "'Judo know' what kids can achieve when they have affordable access to sports like Judo. We are thrilled with the success of our judo program and the impressive turnout at the Riverside event this past weekend. The dedication and performance of our athletes continue to inspire us and set a high standard within our community. We're excited to see how this momentum will drive future achievements."

The Riverside Youth Judo Club is dedicated to service in the community. A Police Activities League (P.A.L.) Club, Riverside students are never turned away because of their financial condition or physical ability.

“We have over 450 registered USA Judo members, including around 150 kids and adults with mild to severe special needs,” Money added. “Another 100 are “at risk” kids who have a significant economic disadvantage or those who have a history with juvenile courts.”

Riverside Judo also hosts the only adaptive judo tournament in the U.S. This past July the club hosted the 2024 Pan American Adaptive Judo Games which included over 200 competitors from seven different countries.

For the 2025 edition of Fight for the Cure, Money is aiming for a record 400 competitors.

Special thanks to the Riverside Police Department and Riverside Police Foundation, Riverside Police Officers Association, USA Judo, Norte Vista High School and the Alvord School District, Nanka Judo, Elliott’s for Pets, and the Law Offices of Virginia Blumenthal for their ongoing support of Riverside Youth Judo Club. Additional thanks to Gary Takemoto (chief referee), Brad Karmann (instructor), Satoshi Nakama (instructor) and Pedro Villa, Jr. (therapist and sensei) for their contributions.