PEI - April 15 - The first CASK sanctioned event in the Maritimes was held in Charlottetown, PEI on Saturday April 15th at the Delta Hotel. This was the first PEI kickboxing event inmany years and exceeded all expectations of the event coordinator - Barry Ogg.

'I had a wision of how I wanted to promote this event, and with a great deal of help from our Team PEI members, the computer wizardry of Charles Pritchett and the tireless effort and skills of Donna Johnson, who was the main reason for sucess, we were able to achieve our goal,' said Ogg.

Barry Ogg is the head instructor of the CASK certified school - TEAM PEI KICKBOXING - and is also the President of the provincial affiliate of CASK (Kickboxing PEI), currently applying for PSO status with the province.

Over 800 excited fans were treated to non-stop action from athletes representing Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and of course PEI. As this was a first CASK sanctioned event, there were some new rules that required adjustments from the athletes, coaches and official. Most of these were safety protocols that began with liscensing athletes and ended with post bout medical exams. All those involved in the event embraced the new protocols and appreciated their rationale.

The event had a definite Las Vegas feel about it, with the beautiful venue and the reporters, journalists and film crew all furiously covering the fast paced action. The 12 scheduled bouts were well recieved by all those present. This included an exhibition bout with Muzammal Nawaz and Micky Marshall. Said Ogg before the event, 'I asked Muzammal if he would like to do an exhibtion bout on our card. He has a world title fight at the end of April in Asia, so he is getting in sparring whrever he can to stay sharp. He will be sparring Micky Marshall, one of the top 180 pound athletes in Canada, who has a Canadian title bout in Sydney in May. The fans of Charlottetown are in for a real treat.' Nawaz and Marshall put on a 6 round exhibtion to the delight of the spectators throwing flashy kicks and some fun antics.

The competitive bouts were still the hightlight of the show. According to Nawaz one of the most exciting bouts was between Paul Fournier (NB) and Ryan Burgess (NS). ' I have seen Ryan compete before, and I really like his calm style and excellent boxing skills, tonight he put on a great boxing clinic against a very game athlete in Paul Fournier of New Brunswick,' said Nawaz of the bout.

'All of the athletes that came to compete in PEI deserve great ackalades. These athletes love their sport and are their to improve skills and put on a show for the crowd. The Martimes is one of the few places that the athletes compete hard - and trust me they do like to fight - but will act like the best of friends after the bouts are finished. That is the kind of sportsmanship that all amateur sports should display.'

The following are the results of the bouts:

Skinner (NS) def Batten (PEI)
Belvea (NB) def Whidden (NS)
Stevenson (NB) def Massey (PEI)
Johnson (NB) def Pritchett (PEI)
Pierce (NS) def Dothright (NB)
J.Whittal (NS) def McCarthy (PEI)
McKenna (NS) def Pie (NS)
S.Whittal (NS) def Trainor (PEI)
Burgess (NS) def Fournier (NB)
R.Whittal (NS) exh. Blanchard (NS)
Boucher (NB) exh.Terpstra (PEI)
Nawaz (ONT) exh. Marshall (NS)

'The Maritimes has great potential and has already developed excellent talent in both athletes and coaches. On this card I was also impressed with the female athletes. Slyvia Skinner (Truro) and Leona Batten (PEI) put on a great first bout showing a good technical display of kickboxing. Also Emily Terprstra (PEI) and Thallie Boucher (NB) did a great exhibition. Terprstra is young and shows great drive and courage. I have already seen Boucher compete before and she is a definate future Canadian champion.' said Nawaz

A special thanks goes out to all those that volunteered for this PEI event, including the DELTA Hotel for being a wonderful host, the Charlottetown Police for providing support to the event, to all of the judges and referees and especially the assistant Chief Official Dave Murry from New Brunswick who has supported amateur kickboxing in the Maritimes for many years.

Congratulations PEI and Barry Ogg for an outstanding kickoff event for 2006!

Munich, GERMANY - March 12, 2023

Three CASK athletes travelled to Munich to compete against top European athletes during a WKA sanctioned amateur fight card. John Nash, Brian Dickson and Sandy Pembroke all represented Canada in their amateur bouts. Each athlete performed well against their respective opponents.

Perhaps the bout of the night was Brian Dickson against European Champion - Jamal Mohammad. Mohammad drove at Dickson at full speed in round one looking for a quick KO win. Dickson has been away from the competitive ring while completing universtity in Nova Scotia, so this first round was certainly a 'trial-by-fire!' He used his lead leg side kick to keep Mohammad at a distance. Then his corner used a brilliant tactic and instructed Dickson to start to use his hands. Mustafa called the right combination and Dickson responded immediately catching Mohammad with a straight cross right on the chin. The German was unable to get up after this punch earning Dickson a KO and a great re-entry into a competitive career!

A special thanks goes to Nick Petroff and Amer Mustafa who took out their time to travel to Germany and coach all the CASK athletes and did a wonderful job in each bout. Another important appreciation goes out to the businesses that supported the CASK team through their sponsorship - SOHO Hotel, OPDI Logisitcs and the Burlington Center for Osteopathy and Athletic Therapy. To Bruce, Danny and Gus - thank you for your continued support to amateur kickboxing in Canada!