Members of the Estevan Taekwon-do Club were in Toronto March 30 for a meet hosted by master Vito Palella, who is the president of the Global TaeKwon-Do Federation Canada.
Just over 200 competitors were in attendance, with clubs from Ottawa, Scarborough, Mississauga, Toronto, Nova Scotia, Saskatoon and Estevan represented.
Athletes competed in patterns and sparring competitions. Divisions were established according to belt rank, age, size and gender.
There were 10 members of the Estevan Taekwon-Do Club who competed. The club captured 19 medals at the tournament, with nine gold, eight silver and two bronze.
Trinda Jocelyn, who is a third-degree black belt, won gold in both patterns and sparring. Also winning double gold were green stripes Sarah Gaignard and Tamara Ash.
The other gold medallists were Danielle Stephany (black stripe), who won gold in sparring to go with her silver in patterns; Taya Saigeon, a black stripe who won gold in patterns and sparring; and Bryn Gaignard, a blue belt who won gold in sparring after a fourth place finish in patterns.
Simone Saigeon, who was the other black belt entered, won silver in patterns and sparring.
The other entrants were Tina Longney (black stripe), who won silver in both events; Jameson Magnien, a blue belt who won silver in both events, and Brandy Janecke, a yellow belt who won a bronze in patterns and a silver in sparring.
All athletes who travelled to Toronto came home with a medal.
Joining the athletes in Toronto were local senior instructors Wayne Brown and Don DeChief, who also assisted with refereeing and judging.
Brown said he was very pleased with how the local club fared at the competition.
“You never know when you go down east what the competition is going to be like. I thought they performed and presented themselves extremely well, and certainly the medal results showed that,” said Brown.
The biggest takeaway from the event was the importance of the training for the athletes.
“The improvement was amazing, and their preparation clearly showed in their techniques … in both patterns and the sparring, and that also showed up in the results page,” said Brown.
The medals were the icing on the cake, he said.
The level of competition varied at nationals, but the local club members still showed excellent techniques, stances and striking.
A few clubs were advanced in their skills.
“I still think Estevan, when we go to these tournaments, is above average, as we spend a lot of time on detail and proper techniques. The teaching we do is we don’t rush things,” said Brown.
