An annual martial arts tournament drew more than 200 competitors to William E. Hay Composite High School at the end of January.
Hammerfest, presented by the Dual Dragons Tae-kwon-Do school in Stettler, was held on Saturday, Jan. 31, and featured participants from 10 martial arts schools.
Dave Hargreaves, who operates the Dual Dragons clubs in Stettler and Red Deer, said they have held the tournament every year for close to 10 years, initially as a small event, held at the club and featuring only local competitors.
Five years ago, they moved the event to the high school gym, and it has only continued to grow since then, with 208 competitors taking part this year and hundreds more in attendance to watch the proceedings.
“Every year, you find ways to make it better and better,” said Hargreaves, noting that the event was also a success from an organizational standpoint, as even with a full schedule, they were able to finish everything by 4 p.m.
In addition to Red Deer and Stettler, the tournament attracted participants from the Dual Dragons clubs in Alix and Bashaw.
The clubs are also affiliated with Unified Tae-kwon-Do International, opening the door to competitors from clubs in Hanna, Veteran, Wainwright, Wetaskiwin and as far away as Saskatoon.
The day began with registration and the black belt meeting, followed by opening ceremonies and introductions. Competitions began with forms and sparring for the children’s and junior divisions, for ages 4 to 10, up to junior green belt.
Musical and weapons forms competitions were followed by the “Power Hour,” which included stop point sparring, continuous sparring and breaking events for the black belts, as well as random draw team sparring for blue belts and up.
The afternoon continued with youth and adult forms and sparring for colour belt divisions, ages 11 and up.
Hargreaves said that as the tournament grows each year, more students can take advantage by learning from their challengers and watching them in action.
“It’s a great experience for every student to be involved in that,” he said. “It brings a lot of confidence to everybody that is able to compete.”
Instructor Will Brown, who started studying Tae-kwon- Do seven years ago, said the students appreciate the tournament because they have the opportunity to face challengers trained in other martial arts, such as karate and kung fu.
“It really pushes us, which is why we like it,” he explained.
A raffle draw raised $510 in donations for KidSport, a national not-for-profit organization that offers financial help for sports registration fees and equipment for kids aged 18 and under.
The Dual Dragons club has operated in Stettler since 1989, with Hargraves running the club for most of that time. Some of his students have gone on to great success, including running clubs of their own.
Brown, who teaches in Stettler and also operates the club in Alix, and Sean UnKauf, who runs the club in Bashaw, will be graded for their third-degree black belt in Stetttler on May 30.
Another student, Cade Bengert, will be graded for his fourth-degree black belt in Saskatoon on June 6.
Following is the complete list of local competitors who earned medals during the Hammerfest tournament:
Age 4: Majkin Jensen, forms bronze, sparring bronze.
Age 5: Bailey Manton, forms bronze, sparring gold; Colin Scheller, forms gold, sparring silver; Danika Jensen, forms silver, sparring gold; Delsin Ball, forms silver, sparring silver; Gabby Coolen, forms silver, sparring bronze; Garrett Copeland, forms gold, sparring bronze; Jaxon Carson, forms bronze; Jordan Klaus, forms gold, sparring gold; Kian Owens, forms gold, sparring gold; Oliver Benjamin, forms bronze, sparring bronze; Rori Jenkins, forms bronze, sparring silver; Tristan McCollum, forms silver, sparring silver; William Besuijen, forms gold, sparring bronze.
Age 6: Caleb Van Dermeme, sparring silver; Ethan Breker, forms silver, sparring bronze; Jayna Weatherly, forms silver, sparring gold.
Age 7: Brooke Stuart, forms silver, sparring gold; Daniel UnKauf, forms gold, sparring gold; Eboni Rosin, forms gold, sparring gold; Jaxton Jones, sparring silver; Mark Manalili, forms gold, sparring gold; Natalia Bruketa, forms bronze, sparring bronze; Savannah Carlson, sparring silver; Savannah Thomas, forms gold, sparring silver; Seth Baird, forms silver, sparring bronze; Tavis Sidertsch, sparring silver; Zander McCollum, forms gold, sparring gold.
Age 8: Alexander Vert-Fisher, forms silver, sparring silver; Duncan Chostner, forms silver; Garth Roth, forms silver, sparring bronze; Jasper Tate, forms bronze, sparring bronze; Kim Josh Palpalatoc, forms bronze, sparring bronze; Tashina Melanson, forms silver, sparring gold; Xavier McCollum, forms gold, sparring gold.
Age 9: Brett Stuart, sparring gold; Jace Richardson, sparring silver; Jaydon Haustein, forms gold, sparring silver; Liam Latham, sparring bronze.
Age 10: Brodie Pearson, forms bronze; Cody Morris, forms silver, sparring bronze; Easton Sauer, forms gold; Jamie Dickson, forms gold, sparring gold; Josiah Keith, forms bronze; Noah Stonehouse, forms gold; Alexandre Neale, forms bronze; Josh Brown, sparring silver.
Age 11: Cassidy UnKauf, forms silver; Kristian Quiding, forms bronze; Mathew Neale, forms silver; Nolan Saffran, forms silver, sparring silver; Ryan Yates, forms silver; Sienna Whiteside, forms gold, sparring gold; Zackary Darby, forms bronze, sparring silver.
Age 12: Anton Hodnefield, sparring silver; Ethan Rahn, forms silver, sparring bronze; Jessica Boizard, forms gold; Matthew Clark, forms bronze, sparring gold; Nathan Reelie, sparring silver.
Age 13: Curtis Myshaniuk, sparring gold; Kaitlyn Jenkins, forms silver, sparring bronze; Lana Grypuik, sparring silver.
Age 15: Ally Zitaruk, sparring gold; Bethany Brown, sparring gold; Kathleen UnKauf, sparring silver; Kayla Myshaniuk, sparring gold; Mikayla Whiteside, forms silver; Tataina Avramenko, forms bronze, sparring bronze; Andrea King, forms silver.
Age 18 and up: Amber Russell, forms silver, sparring gold; Blake Boizard, forms bronze, sparring silver; Cade Bengert, forms bronze; Helen Neal, sparring gold; Logan Kopas, forms silver; Tara Kurk, forms gold.
Age unspecified: Cassie Walgenbach, forms bronze; Coy Jenkins, forms silver, sparring silver; Blake Jack, sparring silver; Maggie Tate, forms gold; Michelle Mcdonald, forms bronze; Trinity Chapman, forms bronze.