CASK Provincials in Ontario
The Ontario Provincial Championship was held on November 6-7 in Burlington. A total of 93 athletes from 19 clubs from as far away as Ottawa and Sudbury registered for this year’s event. The major discipline represented at the 2010 championship was amateur K1. There were 22 provincial divisional winners declared at this 6th annual championship. The following special awards were also presented:
Most Supporting Club Awards:
Ottawa Academy of Martials Arts - Ottawa
World Championship Martial Arts - Peterborough
Top Athlete Awards:
Best Female Athlete – Jillian Lassaline (OAMA)
Best Male Athlete – Mattnew Kandall (PPMA)
Special thanks goes to the team of CASK officials led by Insa Wolf, Stephen Nash and Vic Provost, and the medical team of Dr.Faisal Rehman, Gus Kandilias and Dareen Wharrie that ensured the smooth running of 58 bouts over the two days. The Bay Area Athletic Club in Burlington was the event host and supplied volunteers to ensure that the athletes, coaches and officials were supported and allow the hundreds of spectators to enjoy Ontario’s best amateur kickboxing.
Monday, october 4, 2023
CASK Juniors in Belgrade -- Aiming for the Podium!
CASK fielded 26 athletes at the WAKO World Junior Championship in Belgrade, Serbia the week of September 20-25. With well over 1800 athletes coming from 58 countries, these were the most competitive Under-19 kickboxing championship in WAKO history.
Strong teams from Russia, Hungry, Kazakhstan, England, Poland, Ukraine, Brasil, and Poland dominated most of the semi-contact, light-contact, kickboxing and K1 divisions.
Canada fielded a very young team of athletes. Despite having no international experience on the team – the contingent was both determined and focused. Athletes on this edition of Team Canada were:
K-1Anton Potocki
Cody Adair
Adam Blackadder
Isiah Fernandes
Eric Whitten
Dallas Sexton
Brandon Leaman
Josh Cote
David Bourne
Ryan Drum
Ashley Letourneau
Stephie Halcrow
Natalia Camarena
Shalyn Sulkye
Goran Hinic
Chris Duchesneau
Attiphah Mouton Davis
Phillip McDonald
Channel Villeneuve
Maxam Scott
Cheyanne Hutton
Arianna Rose
Serena Matias
These athletes represented 14 CASK clubs coming from 4 provinces. The leadership team for the Canadian team was composed of:
Jeff Smith – Team Leader
Jackie Lachapelle – Full Contact Coach
Roger Lumyoung – K1/Low Kick Coach
Veronica DeSantos – Tatami Coach
Vic Provost – Official
Jacqui Walters – Official
Muzammal Nawaz - CASK Support
The leadership team did a tremendous job preparing our athletes for the challenge and wonderful experience that a World Championship provides to young athletes. Jeff Smith was outstanding in his ability to motivate athletes and build team unity throughout the grueling week.
The CASK coaching staff worked as a cohesive unit supporting each other and filling in roles whenever needed. The CASK coaches came from a diversity of backgrounds - Muay Thai, Sport Karate, Kickboxing, Kaw Pu – and all respected each others strengths and desire to bring out the best in our Canadian athletes. Coaches cornered each other’s disciplines when needed and helped to warm up and debrief all our athletes.
The leadership team led by example by working cooperatively. The example they set resonated extremely well as all the athletes quickly gelled as a team, cheering each and every athlete in each of the WAKO disciplines.
In total Canada earned 6 medals in very competitive divisions. Our medallists were:
Bronze – Cody Adair (K1), Ryan Drum, Brandon Leaman, Natalia Camerena (Full Contact)
Silver – Stephie Halcrow (Full Contact)
Gold – Shalyn Sulkye (Full Contact)
There were numerous outstanding performances by our young Canadian. But none as motivating as gold medallist Shalyn Sulkye from Hanover, Ontario. She faced Karolina Dziedzil from Poland in the finals for the +70 kg full contact division. Shalyn fought aggressively throughout the round dominating her opponent with strong boxing techniques and front kicks. She won Canada’s only gold medal and is a tremendous representative for CASK and female kickboxing.
Another outstanding performer for Canada was Brandon Leaman from St. Johns, Newfoundland. He had a bye in the first round of competition and then faced Kamil Grodzki from Poland in the quarter finals. The Polish athlete was strong and had good boxing skills. Brandon however demonstrated an exception balance of boxing and kicking skills throughout the bout. He landed numerous lead leg side kicks and then came down with strong boxing combinations. He won this bout moving him into the semi-finals where he faced Zhaslan Nezhimov from Kazakhstan.
The bout was exciting and full of excellent exchanges from both athletes. By the third round, the Kazakhstan athlete managed to stay ahead in points earning his the win. Brandon Leaman earned a great deal of respect from the Canadian coaching staff for getting a bronze medal for Canada in a very competitive division.
Another exceptional performance came from Stephie Halcrow from Burlington, Ontario. In her first bout, she faced Viktoria Shishkina from the top country at these championships – Russia. Not deterred by the status of her opponent, she raced across the ring and engaged her opponent immediately. Stephie’s strategy worked well as the strong Russian started to wear down as the bout continued. By the third round Stephie began to dominate and with seconds to spare she went ahead on points earning her a win.
In her second bout she faced Sirvan Alan from Turkey. She continued her aggressive style which gave her success once again. This time she only need 2 rounds to earn a win as the referee stopped the bout after the Turkish athlete received three standing 8 counts. The second win moved our Canadian into the finals against Angelika Fijalowska from Poland.
This bout was perhaps the most exciting of the female divisions. Both athletes perfered to fight in the center of the ring, with neither willing to give up any space. After three hard fought rounds the Polish athlete managed to keep a slight margin lead and the gold medal. Stephie was given an outstanding reception by her teammates. Her silver medal was well earned as she was the old Canadian that had 3 bouts that lead her to the podium.
The young Canadian team left Belgrade with a great deal of team and individual experience. This experience was equally matched by the desire of our athletes to return to the WAKO Worlds in two years and win more medals for Canada!
Congratulations Team Canada!
Thursday, June 3, 2023
WHAT DO YOU FIGHT FOR? is a philanthropic social movement campaign created by Everlast and running on Facebook. Every person in the world has a fight in life, regardless of how small or large, that drives them to achieve their goals. For each story, picture or video submitted to our contest page on facebook, we are donating $1 to the Teddy Atlas Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the lives of those in need in our communities. Submissions are voted on by the public, with one (1) grand prize winner receiving $5,000 to contribute to their fight and a VIP trip to a World Championship fight in Vegas. |
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| Check it out here: Press Release View the YouTube Video Don't forget to visit the Facebook Page |
Wednesday, March 17, 2023
CASK was part of the Ontario Winter Games (OWG) held March 4-7th in the Muskokas. Close to 3000 young athletes (aged 10-22) and over 500 coaches and officials were part of the 2010 edition of the OWGs. Twenty two sports, including hockey, skiing, curling, wrestling and skating have been part of the Games for many years. This was the first year that amateur kickboxing gained entrance into the event.
The President of Kickboxing Ontario, Amer Mustafa, worked tirelessly for the application to be part of this mainstream multi-sport event. His diligence paid off for the 60 athletes and 22 coaches and officials that were part of our inaugural year participating in the OWGs.
All participants were housed at the beautiful Deerhurst Resort on Thursday and Friday and then stayed at the 5 star Rosseau Resort on the last two days. It was a wonderful opportunity for all involved. The Games was organized as an Olympic style event complete with a gala open ceremonies, opportunities to visit other sports, and a medal ceremony at the end of the competition. Perhaps the best part of this event was that the Ministry funded everything - from meals, accommodations to special gifts received by the athletes!
The competition at the OWG was held over the last two days with bouts in the disciplines of full contact, low kick, amateur K1 and light contact (continuous sparring). There was excellent competition during the event and many exciting final bouts. At the same time there was a great deal of camaraderie that was fostered between the 60 young athletes.
The coaches and officials were divied into leadership teams that took a group of athletes and spend the 4 days with them doing training, team building and watching the other sporting events. This fostered a special bond amongst all the participants and coaches and officials from different clubs. The opportunity for both coaches and athletes to work together for the first time was a great experience.
All athletes felt special as they were treated like sports stars - from where they stayed right down the medal ceremonies. Thanks goes out to the coaches and officials that spent a great deal of time with the athletes, both at the event, but also leading up the OWGs.
A special thanks goes to Sarah Newman, Jacque Walters and Amanda Dominchetti who were the organizing committee for the OWGs for CASK. And finally CASK would like to thank Jeff Smith who assisted greatly in the competition and team building work with all participants.
Our involvement in the 2010 Ontario Winter Games is a huge step for our sport and part of the excellent programs provided by CASK to its members. Thanks to all for being part of the 2010 OWG!
Thursday, December 10, 2023
WAKO WORLD KICKBOXING CHAMPIONSHIP
November 22-30, 2009
CASK just returned from Trieste, ITALY where the 2nd WAKO World Amateur Championship was held. The first WAKO Championship was held in October in Villach, AUSTRIA with the K1, Low Kick and Light Contact disciplines. The second championship was for the semi-contact, forms/weapons and full contact disciplines.
Canada field a fairly young team of 12 athletes - 4 semi contact and 9 full contact. The competition was fierce with over 900 athletes representing 37 countries participating.
Our Canadian team had athletes representing Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. In the tatami sports divisions CASK had the following athletes representing Canada:
Stewart Wilkson, Marie Eve Decaire, Stephan Dube, and Danny Griffith
In the ring sports our athletes were:
Robbie Wiseman, Pat Carrol, Ryan Burgess, Theodora Pistolis, Brian Dickson, Ross Mylet, Marco Capobianco and McKenzie Wright
Stephan Dube and Danny Griffith represented Canada in the veteran's semi-contact divisions. Danny Griffith won a bronze medal in 79kgs and Stephan Dube won a gold medal in 74kg. Competing in Italy was a special experience for Danny Griffith from Quebec as he competed at the WAKO World Champions in Venice Italy back in 1991.
Semi-contact athlete Stewart Wilkson won his opening bout but lost a challenging second round bout. Marie Eve Decaire also won her opening round bout closing a tough bout in the second round. Marie Eve also entered the musical weapons division. She had a wonderful performance, and in many eyes was poised for a medal performance. Then tragically she dropped her bo staff and was eliminated from the medals. The young tatami athletes have major plans to return to the next WAKO Championship determined to medal.
The full contact divisions were very competitive. Canada had excellent performances from our full contact team. Theordora Pistolis, Robbie Wiseman, Ryan Burgess and Pat Carrol all had excellent first round bouts but were eliminated.
Three CASK athletes reached the quarter finals. Marco Capobianco (-71 kg) defeated his opening opponent from Austria by KO and then defeated Hungry by a unanimous decision. He lost a close decision in the quarter finals to Croatia to earn a 5th place finish. Ross Mylet (-60) defeated France in the opening round and then fell to Belgium in the second round. Brian Dickson (-63.5) defeated Spain in round one by TKO and then lost to Ukraine the second round. Both Mylet and Dickson also earned 5th place finishes.
The only Canadian medal in the full contact division went to McKenzie Wright (-48kg). She defeated #3 seed Bulgaria in the second round of competition. Then lost a close decision to Ukraine in the semi-finals. The semi-final bout was very close with the Ukraine winning by 2 points in the last round. The semi final bout earned McKenzie Wright a bronze medal for Canada.
The Canadian team enjoyed the experience in Italy. A special thanks goes out to team leader Jim Marinow and coaches Peter Gilpin and Muzammal Nawaz.
Thursday, November 19, 2023
CASK hosted its first all junior/intermediate tournament format event on November 7th in Burlington, Ontario. The CASK Board of Directors has made it a priority to encourage a greater emphasis on our younger athletes for the next few years. The Ontario Cup was the first competition for this focus.
Sixty-four athletes representing 17 clubs attended the event. Each of the CASK sport disciplines was represented: K-1 Rules, Kickboxing Rules, Full Contact Rules and Light Contact Rules. The competition demonstrated excellent performances from many of our young athletes.
The following clubs sent sizable teams: MAS Kickboxing, DeSantos Premiere MA, Golden Tiger Kung Fu, Point Blank Martial Arts, Impact Zone, Nomad Kickboxing, Pound for Pound, Iron Dragon Kung Fu, Wiseman's Kickboxing, Progressive Martial Arts, and the Bay Area Athletic Club.
There were some Excellent Performances in both tatami and ring sports and an exciting new future for our younger athletes in CASK! All Intermediate athlestes and a selected group of Junior B athletes have been selected for the 2010 Ontario Games to be held in the Muskokas in March. All clubs have been provided registration forms for all qualified athletes. The 2010 Games is a nationally televised, Ministry-sponsored multi-sport event. Over 1400 athletes representing various sports will participate in this wonderful event. CASK will select a few additional athletes for the event. If your club has athletes between the ages of 15-19 please contact the CASK office between December 7-11, to have your athlete considered for the additional spots.
Wednesday, November 18, 2023
CASK fielded its first Thai boxing (K1 Rules), Kickboxing (Low Kick) and Continuous (Light Contact) national amateur team for the 2009 WAKO World Championship held in Villiach, AUSTRIA from October 19-25.
Team Canada was comprised of 20 athletes and a 3-person coaching staff. Team leader Jim Flood worked closely with National Team coaches Joey Del Reyes and Roger Lumyoung to coach our athletes. A special thanks to Gerald Ching and George Gillespie who attended the Championships in support of all our athletes.
Over 900 athletes from 56 countries were represented in Austria. The competition was very tough with many high-level athletes in each division. Canada fielded a young team - both in age and international experience. This was the first World Championships for every member of the Canadian Team!
The CASK Thai boxing committee and CASK Tatami Sport committee worked for many weeks preparing the athletes. Training camps were held, fitness testing protocols developed and specific requirements for athletes and their coaches were established throughout the year. The result of this work was evident as every Canadian athlete performed well. Although the outcome in the medal count was limited, an excellent long-term framework has now been developed that will increase our results in years to come.
There were some especially excellent performances from Adam Hensen, Jermaine Haughton, Sylwester Oranka, Joel Hollands and Jacqui Walters - who all won their opening round bouts. In very competitive divisions our athletes were eliminated before reaching the medal rounds.
Canada did however field one gold medal in the veteran male light contact category. Neil Bishop (ON) won the -91 kg division with wins over Ireland and England. Congratulations Neil on your exceptional performance!
While Canada did not bring back many medals, the young team realized the potential each athlete has to win at this pinnacle international event. Team spirits were high and all athletes have a great desire to return to the world stage in two years for the next World Championships.
A special thanks goes out to CASK Team Leader - Jim Flood (ON). Jim lead the 23-person Canadian delegation to a wonderful experience in Austria and is eager to continue his involvement with CASK for many years to come.
The second WAKO World Championships will be November 23-29 in ITALY. This edition of the World's is for the Full Contact and Semi Contact disciplines. Best wishes to the Canadian Team traveling to these games!
Wednesday, September 30, 2023
Canada's First Carded Athletes!
The Council of Amateur Sport Kickboxing has achieved something no other kickboxing body, association, or group has in the history of Canadian sport. CASK has provided carding status to a group of National Team Members! This is an tremendous step in the evolution of our sport as athletes are now being recognized financially for their contributions and achievements in the sport.
Nine athletes received funding to cover expenses for the WAKO World Championships to be held in the fall of this year. The K1/Low Kick/Light Contact Championships will be held in Austria, while the Kickboxing/Semi-contact/forms-weapon Championships will be held in Italy a month later.
All carded athletes received between $1500-$2000 each to cover their expenses on either trip. The carding process required registered CASK members on the National Team to apply for the carding positions offered by CASK. The application was reviewed by a Carding Committee based on criteria established by the CASK Board.
It should be noted that while achievements at the National Championships was a major requirement, participating in tournament format events, volunteering in any capacity at the National or Provincial levels, participating in conferences and seminars, taking coaching courses or official courses, attending training camps, and other ways of being involved in the association were given high consideration in the final selection.
The carded athletes for 2009 are as follows:
Theodora Pistolis - Hook Up Muay Thai
Adam Hensen - Phoenix Fight Club
Brian Dickson - Bay Area Athletic Club
Paulo Dultra - Kombat Arts
Christine Hackbart - TKO Fighting Arts
McKenzie Wright - Bay Area Athletic Club
Jacqui Walters - Hook Up Muay Thai
Ross Mylet - Bay Area Athletic Club
Robbie Wiseman - Wiseman's Kickboxing
Congratulations to the selected athletes, their clubs, and their coaches how supported their achievements in the sport. We at CASK hope that this is the first step in a bright future for our association and our athletes!
Tuesday, June 23, 2023
On June 20, CASK hosted the return of the CANADA CUP Continuous Sparring tournament. Continuous sparring - known as the WAKO 'Light-Contact' discipline - is a very popular form of competition for junior athletes.
With Thaiboxing and kickboxing sanctioned events being organized well across Canada, CASK has begun the development of a Tatami Sports division. The priority will be the establishment of a National presence for semi-contact (point sparring), light-contact (continuous point sparring), and musical weapons/forms competitions, training camps, and National teams.
Light contact competitions are tremendous opportunities for newer participants to compete in a safer environment as the contact level is controlled in each bout.
Many CASK Member clubs brought participants to the Canada Cup including - Point Blank, Bay Area Athletic Club, Impact Zone, Golden Tiger, Douvris, Nomad Kickboxing, and Round One.
The junior divisions had participants as young as 7 years old competing! Some athletes had 2-3 bouts (each 2 x 2 minute rounds) during the tournament. This provided great experience to many of our young participants.
The priority of the Canada Cup is on safe competition - but also in providing a fun and stress-free environment for participants to enjoy competition. By emphasising enjoyment in the sport - it is the goal of CASK that more younger participants will be interested in continuing in the competitive aspect of kickboxing/Thaiboxing.
The CANADA CUP had many clubs attend and participate that are not yet members of CASK. The Canada Cup also provided a tremendous opportunity for the wider martial arts industry to learn about the work of CASK and the benefits of membership with Canada's only National association that governs all ring and tatami sports.
One of the special guests at the Canada Cup was Canadian Martial Arts Icon - Veronica De Santos. Veronica has been involved in the martial arts for well over 30 years. Many in the world of sport karate consider her to be the top female athlete Canada has ever produced. Her sport resume is quite extensive:
2x National Karate Champion - 1982-1989
1988 World Kickboxing Championship Medalist
Member of the Atlantic World Karate Team
Member of the Canadian Natioanl Tae Kwon Do Team
Carded Athlete (Tae Kwon Do)
However Veroncia's accomplished go beyond the sport. She was the first women of color to open a martial arts school in Toronto. This club is now celebrating it's 20th anniversary.
Never to slow down she has now launched the first all Canadian Martial Arts magazine - KIAI. Veroncia has also joined CASK in the development of the Tatami Sports Division. An unstoppable force - Veronica joins Jim Flood in the development of another discipline within CASK.
The Canada Cup also hosted the first WAKO-CANADA Tatami Sports National Trials. CASK is the Canadian representative of WAKO (World All Styles Kickboxing Organization). WAKO is the international federation recognized by the IOC for all kickboxing disciplines.
CASK has been sanctioning Thaiboxing, Kickboxing (low kick and full contact) for the past 4 years. CASK will now also sanction semi-contact, light-contact, musical forms/weapons divisions as part of it's responsibilities with WAKO.
As this was the first WAKO tournament in Canada there was a modest turnout. However there were a number of top tatami sport athletes in attendance - many coming from Quebec.
Jim Flood is the current National Director for the Tatami Sports Disciplines. Working with him are Jeff Smith, Joe Osborne, Peter Gilpin and Veronica De Santos.
After a number of heated battles the final selection was made for the 2009 National Team. Details of division winners will be provided in the coming weeks.
Thursday, June 11, 2023
Athlete Awards
Bart Molenda vs Shawn McCarthy
CASK is proud of the many dedicated coaches at the club level. As an association, CASK has certified 285 coaches in seven provinces. Many of these coaches also assist at the provincial and national levels providing support to our high performance athletes. The winners of the 2008 Coaching Awards - Roger Lumyoung and Joey Del Reyes provided a great deal of support to the 2008 Junior Thai boxing team that travelled to Italy. Both individuals are exemplary coaches and outstanding members of CASK.