Press Release - Canada returned from the WKA World Championships will a stellar preformance from the team as a whole. With the championships being on North American soil for the first time in WKA history - Team Canada took advantage and fielded the largest team in the history of Canadian ring sports.
A team from western Canada under the leadership of Mike Miles, brought together some of the top Thaiboxing athletes in Canada including champions - Mistry Sutherland, Scott Clark, Darren Snell, Levi Kump, Brad Wall, Nathan Smandch and Darren Robson. Filling out the Thai team were athletes under the training of Suchart of Toronto including Damian Smektala and Mellisa Misiuda.
Central Canada and the Maritimes, under the leadership of CASK, fielded the full contact squad with a mix of experienced athletes and some up-and-coming youth on the team. Membes of the team included - Kay Lawerance, Alex Nikolic, Megan Kelly, Thersa Fury, Josie Novielle, Scott Anderson, John DaSilva, Yury Evsyunin, Travis Mavicar, Amir Raslinic, Nick Petroff, Randy Morrison, Ray Blais, Rob Body, Bart Molenda, Sandy Pembroke, Tony Black, Tate Deschamps, and Dave Sabina.
Overall Team Canada brought home 27 medals - 11 of which were Gold! There were a number of exceptional peformances from Canadian athletes on this internatonal stage. With strong teams from Russia and Germany, winning a medal was challenging. While winning medals was a great achievement for Team Canada, the camardiere displayed by the team by supporting each other thoughout the 3 day tournament was the greatest achievement to acknowledge. Once again there many excellent performances by Canadian athletes - a special recognition goes to the female team which took 4 golds, 2 silvers, 1 bronze. The 7 medals were an outstanding contribution to the Canadian total especially so - as there were 7 females registered on team Canada!
This year's Canadian team was accompanied by a support team that comprised a coaching staff of Brad Fowler (Ontario), Rob Doley (New Brunswick), Mike Miles (Alberta), Suchart (Ontario). The coaches conducted themselves as true professionals and worked very hard in coaching Canadian athletes though dozen's of matches in the tournament. All athletes were grateful for the work and dedication of the coaching staff.
Also supporting the Canadian athletes were the CASK officials team. Amanda Woerhle, Steve Quan, Stephen Nash, and Steve Macvicar all volunteered their time and worked as judges and referees throughout the event. The representation of these Canadian officials during bouts provides a level of preseence for Canada amongst the leadership of the World Championships that is essential for Canada's role in international events.
Also for the first time in CASK history - our organization was given the opportunity to lead the medical component of the championships. Dr. Gus Kandilias recruited a highly qualified team of staff to oversee the safety needs of all competitors. From performing pre-bout medicals, to providing emergency care to injuried athletes, the team played a critical role in the sucess of the championships. The team's core personel were Dr. Gus Kandilias, Dr. Fahim Ali, Beth Stanistreet and Cathy Paramedic. In addition to these individuals, students and therapists from York Univeristy and the Osteopathy College manned the three competitive rings throughout the championships. The Canadian team also took full opportunity of the medical team and the group provided support to our national athletes thorughout the event.
The WKA World Championships were a great milestone for the Council of Amateur Sport Kickboxing's (CASK) new national team development program. This program is in the first year of a 4 year strategic plan which aims to produce national teams that perform at the highest levels internationally, and also have the support mechanisms to allow for elite level achievements. The final aspect of this plan is the financial and resources contribution from our corporate partners. Thanks goes to SOHO Met of Toronto for being a financial sponsor. Another special thanks goes to TOPTEN Canada who through the support of Rich Lortie, graciously outfitting the entire Canadian team with specially designed TEAM CANADA tracksuits and fighting apparel. This in-kind support was a tremendous support to the athletes and the organization and all are appreciative of the relationship between CASK and TOPTEN.
The future for the Canadian kickboxing team looks extremely positive and with two major international events scheduled for 2006 - the kickboxing world look out - here we come!
For more information on future Team Canada events please contact the CASK national headquarters at 905-681-9815. To order pictures from the event please contact the CASK photographer - Carol Onate at - 416-899-4126.