It was a day at the beach for some of Canada’s Junior WTF Taekwondo Team. Twenty of the top 14-to-17 year-old players fought at the Junior Pan Ams in Daytona Beach last week, and fourteen of them came back with impressive souvenirs:
Canadian Junior Team: Athletes, Officials, and International Referees
| Junior Pan Am Championship – Canadian Team Results | ||
| Female | ||
| Fin | Melanie Phan | Silver |
| Fly | Christina Roy | Top 8 |
| Bantam | Rita Bakarat | Top 8 |
| Feather | Yvette Yong | Gold |
| Light | Christine Trieu | Gold |
| Welter | Jessica Johnson | Bronze |
| Light Middle | Carolyne Prevost | Top 8 |
| Middle | Veronique Grimard | Bronze |
| Light Heavy | Courtney Condie | Silver |
| Heavy | Rachelle Caruso | Bronze |
| Male | ||
| Fin | Brandon Boychuk | Top 8 |
| Fly | Lawrence Phamhung | Bronze |
| Bantam | Angelo Lee | Top 8 |
| Feather | Jean-Francois Laberge | Bronze |
| Light | Siddhartha Bhat | Silver |
| Welter | Eric Phamhung | Gold |
| Light Middle | Sebastien Pyzik | Top 8 |
| Middle | Jean Lagadec | Bronze |
| Light Heavy | Baljot Chahal | Bronze |
| Heavy | Kevin Hatt | Bronze |
Medaling in the Junior Pan Ams is certainly an accomplishment, but just competing in them is priceless international experience for Canada’s young Taekwondo athletes. Kevin Hatt is a rising star player from Nova Scotia who won bronze in Daytona:
My experience at the Junior Pan Ams was amazing, it was my second year being on the junior Canadian team and I loved it. All of our fighters showed everyone that as a country, we are becoming stronger, faster. smarter and I believe we are soon going to be one of the most feared countries that competitors are going to have to face.
Kevin Hatt (NS) becomes Canadian Champion (Junior Heavyweight) earlier this year in New Brunswick
When a strong country (U.S.A. in this case) has the home-crowd advantage, strong team spirit can have a big impact on the match. Kevin recounts how the team found strength in unity:
Our spirit was the best there. Our cheers would block out everyone else’s, and win or lose, we would keep cheering for our fighters and win or lose, our fighters would walk away form the ring with their heads held high showing the class and respect that Canadian fighters consistently show.
There is no junior division for Taekwondo at the Olympics, so for players like Kevin whose dream is to represent Canada at the Olympic level, Junior division is an important developmental stage before hitting Senior division. Students can start at a young age in Junior Division C (under 10 years), then progress through Division B (11-13) and Division A (14-17). The rules in each division are modified for the appropriate development and safety of the younger competitors.
The team members for the Junior Pan Ams earned their spots by winning their weight divisions at the Junior Canadian Championships, held last July in New Brunswick.
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