On March 4th coaches, competitors, officials, parents and supporters gathered once again at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino for the 2007 version of the Calgary Cup. This year nearly 200 participants from 12 dojo's came out from across western Canada to join in for an action packed, exciting day that will soon not be forgotten.
An upbeat DVD with highlights from last years tournament along with many historical Kyokushin photographs marked the start of the day, and after the ceremonial march in, a well executed version of the fighters oath and a heartfelt opening speech by the tournament supreme judge the competition was ready to begin.
The first divisions of the day were the kata divisions. Competitors of all ages and levels displayed there fine form, grace and power. For many of them it was their first time ever performing something in front of a crowd. Though not everyone walked away with one of the eye catching trophies for this years event, all knew from the grins on there faces that they were all victorious by being part of such a special day and by the personal challenges in which they had conquered.
Next up was the children's white belt non contact divisions. These divisions were added last year to the program to allow 1st timers to also be apart of the "big" day. The spirit and cuteness displayed by these youngsters was immensely enjoyed by all. Once the contact divisions began for this age group many parents were amazed how such cute, innocent little non contact creatures could turn immediately into such fierce, effective little fighting tigers. The children's divisions were enjoyed by all.
The junior divisions and preliminary rounds of the adult novice divisions ran next. It often amazes me the quick transformation that takes place in such a short amount of time. In a span of six years fighters often go from participating in an innocent non contact division to participating in open rules full knockdown open fighting. One case saw a sixteen year old take on the open division for the first time, and he placed 1st. Indeed impressive. It quickly becomes apparent that the future is bright for Canadians on the international stage.
After an awards presentation and a group photo session for the morning portion of the program the venue was quickly cleared and transformed into a professional looking venue for the long awaited afternoon event.
As in the morning, competitors marched in and the fighter's oath was recited. The immediate aura of the grand ballroom had changed, and now the pressure, tension, nerves and seriousness of the competition was truly being felt by all, a much different feeling that had been experience just 40 minutes prior. Immediately the competition began with the semi finals of the adult novice divisions and the preliminary rounds of the open divisions. Again the final four competitors in each of the open divisions were required to perform tameshiwari. Spectators watched in awe as they saw and heard the stacks of boards being disintegrated by the powerful strikes of these finely tuned athletes. The tameshiwari section is one of the day's highlights.
Once the tameshiwari was completed the finals for the advanced kata division began. The top six competitors from the morning performed their katas displaying the soft and graceful side of Kyokushin that is overlooked by a day that is otherwise filled with harder fighting side of Kyokushin. With finely timed, precision placed, perfected techniques the katas performed were truly awesome. Indeed the competitive side of the kata competition has reached a new level at this tournament.
Next the finals of the adult novice divisions and the semi finals of the open divisions were fought. One highlighted match was a repeat of last years Heavyweight final between reigning champion Nathan Howat of Edmonton and Banff's Daymon Miller. After an energy and emotionally charged first round the officials decided that an extension round was required. The two tacticians used all they had in their arsenal trading power punches and swift kicks. In the end Daymon Miller was awarded the decision and advanced to the finals. All matches were exciting to observe and the technical level of all competitors had increased from last year.
Just before the final open matches of the day a demonstration was performed that attempted to display all aspects of Kyokushin. It included the hard and soft elements seen in Kyokushin kata and how they relate to the self-defense and unique powerful breaking techniques that has made Kyokushin famous. It was enjoyed by all and with the exciting finals of the open divisions capped off another memorable Kyokushin affair.
Once again thank you to all that participated as either a contestant, official, volunteer, observer or sponsor. It is because of all of your time and efforts that made this day a great success. We look forward to seeing you all once again in 2008.
OSU
Brad Gillespie
An upbeat DVD with highlights from last years tournament along with many historical Kyokushin photographs marked the start of the day, and after the ceremonial march in, a well executed version of the fighters oath and a heartfelt opening speech by the tournament supreme judge the competition was ready to begin.
The first divisions of the day were the kata divisions. Competitors of all ages and levels displayed there fine form, grace and power. For many of them it was their first time ever performing something in front of a crowd. Though not everyone walked away with one of the eye catching trophies for this years event, all knew from the grins on there faces that they were all victorious by being part of such a special day and by the personal challenges in which they had conquered.
Next up was the children's white belt non contact divisions. These divisions were added last year to the program to allow 1st timers to also be apart of the "big" day. The spirit and cuteness displayed by these youngsters was immensely enjoyed by all. Once the contact divisions began for this age group many parents were amazed how such cute, innocent little non contact creatures could turn immediately into such fierce, effective little fighting tigers. The children's divisions were enjoyed by all.
The junior divisions and preliminary rounds of the adult novice divisions ran next. It often amazes me the quick transformation that takes place in such a short amount of time. In a span of six years fighters often go from participating in an innocent non contact division to participating in open rules full knockdown open fighting. One case saw a sixteen year old take on the open division for the first time, and he placed 1st. Indeed impressive. It quickly becomes apparent that the future is bright for Canadians on the international stage.
After an awards presentation and a group photo session for the morning portion of the program the venue was quickly cleared and transformed into a professional looking venue for the long awaited afternoon event.
As in the morning, competitors marched in and the fighter's oath was recited. The immediate aura of the grand ballroom had changed, and now the pressure, tension, nerves and seriousness of the competition was truly being felt by all, a much different feeling that had been experience just 40 minutes prior. Immediately the competition began with the semi finals of the adult novice divisions and the preliminary rounds of the open divisions. Again the final four competitors in each of the open divisions were required to perform tameshiwari. Spectators watched in awe as they saw and heard the stacks of boards being disintegrated by the powerful strikes of these finely tuned athletes. The tameshiwari section is one of the day's highlights.
Once the tameshiwari was completed the finals for the advanced kata division began. The top six competitors from the morning performed their katas displaying the soft and graceful side of Kyokushin that is overlooked by a day that is otherwise filled with harder fighting side of Kyokushin. With finely timed, precision placed, perfected techniques the katas performed were truly awesome. Indeed the competitive side of the kata competition has reached a new level at this tournament.
Next the finals of the adult novice divisions and the semi finals of the open divisions were fought. One highlighted match was a repeat of last years Heavyweight final between reigning champion Nathan Howat of Edmonton and Banff's Daymon Miller. After an energy and emotionally charged first round the officials decided that an extension round was required. The two tacticians used all they had in their arsenal trading power punches and swift kicks. In the end Daymon Miller was awarded the decision and advanced to the finals. All matches were exciting to observe and the technical level of all competitors had increased from last year.
Just before the final open matches of the day a demonstration was performed that attempted to display all aspects of Kyokushin. It included the hard and soft elements seen in Kyokushin kata and how they relate to the self-defense and unique powerful breaking techniques that has made Kyokushin famous. It was enjoyed by all and with the exciting finals of the open divisions capped off another memorable Kyokushin affair.
Once again thank you to all that participated as either a contestant, official, volunteer, observer or sponsor. It is because of all of your time and efforts that made this day a great success. We look forward to seeing you all once again in 2008.
OSU
Brad Gillespie
2007 Calgary cup official results
2007 Calgary Cup Official Results
| Kata 13 Years & Under, Below Blue Belt | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Chelsea Mouwen | Calgary |
| 2nd | Kristine Potter | Calgary |
| 3rd | Jeremy Kapsha | Rocky Mountain |
| Kata 13 Years & Under, Blue Belt & Above | ||
| 1st | Michele Murphy | Calgary |
| 2nd | Brennan Weaver | Rocky Mountain |
| 3rd | Nik Mouwen | Calgary |
| Kata 14 Years & Over, Below Yellow Belt | ||
| 1st | Jordan Giesinger | Calgary |
| 2nd | Gary Swift | Calgary |
| 3rd | Wendy McBride | Rocky Mountain |
| Kata 14 Years & Over, Yellow Belt & Above | ||
| 1st | Eileen Cohorst | Rocky Mountain |
| 2nd | Grayson Clague | Rocky Mountain |
| 3rd | Aimee Ravenstein | Rocky Mountain |
| Non-Contact Kumite (70 LBS and Under) | ||
| 1st | Cory-Dale Stevenson | Calgary |
| 2nd | Ben Fenton | Calgary |
| 3rd | Brianne Dean | Calgary |
| 3rd | Brady Klapak | Calgary |
| Knockdown Kumite (12 Years & Under, 60LBS & Under) | ||
| 1st | Lucas Fabbri | Banff |
| 2nd | Fin Iles | Banff |
| 3rd | Morgann Johnson | Rocky Mountain |
| 3rd | Tyler Correll | Banff |
| Knockdown Kumite (12 Years & Under, 61 to 70LBS) | ||
| 1st | Tyler Pecsi | Banff |
| 2nd | Ricky Helfmann | Calgary |
| 3rd | Kristine Potter | Calgary |
| 3rd | Chelsea Mouwen | Calgary |
| Knockdown Kumite (12 Years & Under, 71 to 80LBS) | ||
| 1st | Wesley Patterson | Banff |
| 2nd | Jessica Foster | Cremona |
| 3rd | Atley O'Neil | Banff |
| 3rd | Carson Sadler | Rocky Mountain |
| Knockdown Kumite (12 Years & Under, 81 to 99LBS) | ||
| 1st | Seth Whalen | Rocky Mountain |
| 2nd | Meghan Murphy | Calgary |
| 3rd | Erika Potter | Calgary |
| 3rd | Natasha Habedus | Calgary |
| Knockdown Kumite (12 Years & Under, 100LBS & Over) | ||
| 1st | Michele Murphy | Calgary |
| 2nd | Tachara Larocque | Cremona |
| 3rd | Justin Brietzke | Bearspaw |
| 3rd | Akari Otawa | Banff |
| Knockdown Kumite (Men 13 & 14 Years, Light Weight) | ||
| 1st | Scott Potter | Calgary |
| 2nd | Ethan Arkinstall | Rocky Mountain |
| 3rd | Dennis Dimond | Calgary |
| 3rd | Kamen Proudfoot | Calgary |
| Knockdown Kumite (Men 13 & 14 Years, Heavy Weight) | ||
| 1st | Alex Helfmann | Calgary |
| 2nd | Sheldon Richardson | Rocky Mountain |
| 3rd | Jesse Schmidt | Calgary |
| 3rd | Peter Atrazhev | Edmonton |
| Knockdown Kumite (Men 15 & 16) | ||
| 1st | Dominic Furger | Invermere |
| 2nd | Max Wong | Calgary |
| 3rd | Sean Maddocks | Calgary |
| 3rd | Cody Erikson | Banff |
| Knockdown Kumite (Senior Men) | ||
| 1st | Gary Swift | Calgary |
| 2nd | Trevor Henderson | Cremona |
| 3rd | Doug Potter | Calgary |
| 3rd | Dan Giesinger | Calgary |
| Knockdown Kumite (Women 17 Years & Over, Light Weight) | ||
| 1st | Eileen Kohorst | Rocky Mountain |
| 2nd | Lisa Crotty | Banff |
| 3rd | Tracey Klettl | Cremona |
| 3rd | Tresa Tocher | Cremona |
| Knockdown Kumite (Women 17 Years & Over, Heavy Weight) | ||
| 1st | Asya Flaata | Rocky Mountain |
| 2nd | Kaia Lange | Calgary |
| 3rd | Lyndsey Heenan | Banff |
| 3rd | Julie Pecsi | Banff |
| Knockdown Kumite (Men 17 Years & Over, Light Weight) | ||
| 1st | Adrian DiPaola | Cremona |
| 2nd | Michale Henderson | Cremona |
| 3rd | Darcy Levesque | Calgary |
| 3rd | Hayden Strangward | Cremona |
| Knockdown Kumite (Men 17 Years & Over, Heavy Weight) | ||
| 1st | Stian Lange | Calgary |
| 2nd | Troy Pipella | Calgary |
| 3rd | Ricardo Lacelle | Penticton |
| 3rd | David Henderson | Cremona |
| Knockdown Kumite (Open Men, Light Weight) | ||
| 1st | Jordan Forget | Calgary |
| 2nd | Albert Tio | Vancouver |
| 3rd | Matt Stukenberg | Parksville |
| Knockdown Kumite (Open Men, Heavy Weight) | ||
| 1st | Daymon Miller | Banff |
| 2nd | Jeremiah Breeze | Invermere |
| 3rd | Nathan Howatt | Edmonton |
| Spirit Award Morning | ||
| Max Wong | Calgary | |
| Spirit Award Afternoon | ||
| Daymon Miller | Banff | |
| Technical Award Morning | ||
| Seth Whalen | Rocky Mountain | |
| Technical Award Afternoon | ||
| Jorden Forget | Calgary | |