Saint John New Brunswick was rocked by three solid days of Taekwondo competition this Canada day Weekend. Things kicked off with the “Colour Belt International” tournament on Friday, where the sparring-only format was very successful. (The event was hosted by JVK Taekwondo and assisted by JD TKD , Quispamsis TKD and T.G. Roy’s TKD)

The Junior WTF Canadian Championship has three divisions: Poom C (under 10 years old), Poom B (11-13), and Poom A (14-17). The tournament is only for black belts, and rules are modified to make competition safe for young players.

Saturday was dedicated to Poom B and C competition and witnessed hundreds of young athletes show determination and sportsmanship beyond their age. While they may be tomorrow’s champions, at this stage they are still learning the basics of high-level competition.

Poom A Division on Sunday was enormous: 267 competitors from across Canada made it the largest turnout in Junior Championship history! These players show some serious fighting spirit as they hone their skills for eventually fighting at the Senior Championship (17+ years).

Poom A Highlights

In Women’s Featherweight, Yvette Yong (BC) vs. Lea-marie Dumont (QC) had the crowed on their feet when Dumont took and held and early lead in the final. When the judges awarded Yong a controversial point the Quebec fans exploded in the stands, causing Yong to go crazy berserk for the last round, bridging the gap and convincing spectators she deserved the final 10-7 win for gold.

Meanwhile Kevin Meija (AB) was defending his title (2006 Flyweight Champion) against the up-and-coming Lawrence Phamhung (ON). They battled point for point to a sudden death final round, won by Lawrence for the gold medal. In the very next match his brother Eric Phamhung completed his domination of Welterweight by point-gapping Emile Laberge (QC) 10-3, his fourth point-gap win in as many fights.

The new Junior A Team (gold medalists) will represent Canada at the Junior Pan Am Championships this October in Daytona, Florida.

Poomsae (patterns) competition is also an event at the Junior Championships, and for the first time electronic scoring was used in a way similar as with sparring: judges use a hand controller to score the competitor, and the score is shown on a display immediately after the performance. This system is not only faster, but also provides scoring transparency and instant feedback to competitors and spectators. Canadians will be glad to experience this system because it is used in international poomsae competition. Starting this year, the Senior Poomsae Championships will happen at the Canadian Hanmadang, separate from sparring.

Poom A (14-17) Results
Female
Fin	Melanie Phan (BC)
Fly	Christina Roy (QC)
Bantam	Rita Barakat (QC)
Feather	Yvette Yong (QC)
Light	Christine Trieu (ON)
Welter	Jessica Johnson (AB)
Light Middle	Carolyne Prevost (ON)
Middle	Veronique Grimard (QC)
Light Heavy	Courtney Condie (ON)
Heavy	Rachel Caruso (ON)
Male
Fin	Brandon Boychuk (AB)
Fly	Lawrence Phamhung (ON)
Bantam	Angelo Lee (AB)
Feather	Jean-Francois Laberge (QC)
Light	Siddhartha Bhat (ON)
Welter	Eric Phamhung (ON)
Light Middle	Sebastien Pyzik (QC)
Middle	Jean Lagadec (QC)
Light Heavy	Baljot Chahal (AB)
Heavy	Kevin Hatt (NS)

MVP Male: Siddhartha Bhat

MVP Female: Jessica Johnson

Most Valuable Referee: Suzanne Mitchell

» Event Photos
» Poomsae Results
» Poom A Results
» Poom B & C Results

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