Twenty proud Taekwondo athletes fought their way onto the National Team earlier this week in Calgary, Alberta. The Junior Team (A division—14-17 years old) will represent Canada at the Junior World Championships next month in Turkey.
Jadon Nahibuan (Team Ontario) fighting in Division C Flyweight (photo: Exposurenet.com)
| 2008 Junior National Champions | ||
| Female | ||
| Fin | Melanie Phan | Gold |
| Fly | Victoria Chong | Gold |
| Bantam | Amber Spence | Gold |
| Feather | Caroline Pyzik | Gold |
| Light | Christine Trieu | Gold |
| Welter | Chelsea Pellegrino | Gold |
| Light Middle | Sabrina Henault | Gold |
| Middle | Mercedes Stringer | Gold |
| Light Heavy | Ashley Kraayeveld | Gold |
| Heavy | Michelle McLaughlan | Gold |
| Male | ||
| Fin | Sotiri Georgas | Gold |
| Fly | Brandon Boychuck | Gold |
| Bantam | Jean-Philip Paquet | Gold |
| Feather | Angelo Lee | Gold |
| Nigel Harman | Siddhartha Bhat | Gold |
| Welter | Maurice Charbel Mourad | Gold |
| Light Middle | Patrick Bouchard | Gold |
| Middle | Joseph Azzi | Gold |
| Light Heavy | Baljot Chahal | Gold |
| Heavy | Moustafa Hoballah | Gold |
Canadian Olympic Team Michaud, Sergerie, and Gonda pose in Calgary (photo: Exposurenet.com)
Spectators and athletes were delighted at the chance to meet Canada’s Olympic Taekwondo Team: Ivett Gonda, Sebastien Michaud, and Karine Sergerie. The trio were flown in by the tournament hosts to inspire and motivate the young competitors.
Opening ceremony: Grandmaster Kee Ha (Taekwondo Canada President) presents the Canadian Olympic Team: Karine Sergerie, Ivett Gonda, and Sebastien Michaud.
The Kees Canada Cup held before the national competition gave students of all ages the chance to compete in full-size rings, and with the benefit of National Referees. Aside from the traditional sparring (kyorugi) and patterns (poomsae) competitions, various breaking competitions (kyokpa) were also held. Older students pitted their strongest kicks against one another in the power breaking competition, while younger students could perform jumping high kick (height) and flying side kick (distance). For fairness as well as environmental concerns, all breaking was conducted with re-breakable boards.
 Jumping high kick competition |
 Flying side kick competition |
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