Close to 50 martial artists from Williams Lake and Smithers converged in Boitanio Mall March 21 for the World Karate and Kickboxing Commission Provincial Championships.
Held inside the previous location of Sport Mart, Shogun Martial Arts Academy students competed in kata, team kata, creative weapons, point fighting, team point fighting and continuous sparring for a chance to represent Team BC at the WKC national championships coming up May 15-18 in Ottawa, Ont.
Williams Lake Shogun Martial Arts Academy Sensei Lee-Ann Lainchbury noted the dojo earned 28 medals in total spread among 12 athletes through numerous events.
“We are as proud as ever of our students and how well they did,” Lee-Ann said. “Not only did they place well, but they were good sports. Even our first-time students displayed a wonderful competitive spirit.”
As busy as Lee-Ann and WLSMAA Sensei Sheldon Lainchbury were helping organize and run the tournament, Lee-Ann said it was also nice to see students encouraging and supporting each other.
All local students qualified for nationals. The results from the WKC Provincials are as follows:
Gabrielle Nustad — silver in kata
Regan Miciuk — gold in kata, silver in continuous sparring and bronze in point fighting
Raiden Lainchbury — gold in point fighting and bronze in continuous sparring
Adanna Nustad — bronze in kata
Macy Lainchbury — gold in point fighting and silver in kata
Isaac Lauren — gold in point fighting, gold in continuous sparring and silver in kata
Emma Grondines — gold in kata
Liam Lauren — bronze in point fighting
Jeremy Munroe — gold in point fighting, silver in creative weapons and bronze in kata
Jaxon Skuratow — gold in point fighting and bronze in creative weapons
Kai Richardson — gold in kata and silver in point fighting
Micheal Heitmann — silver in point fighting and silver in continuous sparring
Team Events:
Jaxon Skuratow, Isaac Lauren and Liam Lauren — gold in team point fighting
Macy Lainchbury and Isaac Lauren — bronze in team kata.