Athletes from Trinity Taekwon-Do continue to achieve great success at the ITF Alberta Provincial Championship.
A total of 21 athletes from Cochrane and Water Valley recently brought home 25 medals — four gold, six silver, and 15 bronze — from the provincials hosted in Airdrie.
"It's a cliché, but it's not all about the medals," says Cameron Macdonald, head coach and founder of Trinity. "I think everybody had a pretty good time and a good tournament."
"There are always a few standouts and highlights, but overall it definitely serves our club well to have 20-plus, 30-plus athletes going to test their might, test their skills, and then bring that experience back to the club."
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Among the many standout performers was black belt Mark Orcutt, who won medals in three disciplines. He returned with one silver and two bronze medals in medal in patterns, sparring, and power breaking.
Madeleine du Toit won gold in sparring in a multi-belt division.
Junior Black Belt Jagger Sarmenta won gold in his first-ever power breaking competition. He normally competes in specialty breaking, which involves more jumping and dynamic kicks, explains Macdonald. In power breaking, the goal is to break the maximum number of boards possible.
His brother Tripp, also a junior black belt, earned silver in sparring and patterns.
Early in the competition, white belt students Emery Ondrey and Jasper both advanced to the final in sparring. Emery won gold and Jasper won silver.
"That was a one-two finish for our club, and that was a highlight indeed," says Macdonald.
While provincials are the last major tournament for the majority of their athletes, nationals are on the horizon for some of their athletes. They are being hosted in Levis, QC, from May 17 to 19, which are open to black belts and coloured belts from CTFI-affiliated clubs in Canada, ages four and over.
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The ITF World Championships follow in Croatia from Oct. 7 to 11.
