Medal Award Ceremony at Nationals

I was almost the last person to leave the Olympic Oval since I had one of the last events.  As I was walking out I felt very sad that the tournament was over and that I may never be in this incredible building again.  It’s one thing to see it on TV but it’s so special to be able to compete in it.

Instead of receiving our medals at the competition everything was given at a special dinner banquet for all the Black Belts and families.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from friends about the differences in the events.  The simplest explanation is to compare the World Championships to a Track and Field meet.  There are several individual events and then there are the team events which are similar to a relay event.

This National Championship was so important to me since I qualified to compete for Canada at the World Championships.  I’ll be competing against the best TaeKwon Do Black Belt women under the age of 18 at the World Championships in New Zealand in these five different events:

1. Individual Patterns
2. Individual Sparring
3. Individual Power Breaking
4. Team Sparring
5. Team Power Breaking

While my initial goal was to compete as an individual I was also selected as a member of the Canadian Team Sparring and Team Power Breaking squads.  Team events are much like a relay race where the wins and losses of  each teammate is totaled.  These contests are completely separate from the individual events and I’ve been told that the crowds and cheering for these events gets crazy!