On March 4^th 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fs 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fs white belt non contact divisions. These divisions were added last year to the program to allow 1^st timers to also be apart of the gbigh 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fs 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 1^st. 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fs 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fs 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fs 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

Official Calgary Cup 2007 Results

Kata (13 and under, below blue belt)

1. Chelsea Mouwen (Calgary)
2. Kristine Potter (Calgary)
3. Jeremy Kapsha (Rocky Mountain Dojo = RMD)

Kata (13 and under, above blue belt) 

1. Michele Murphy (Calgary)
2. Brennan Weaver (RMD)
3. Nik Mouwen (Calgary)

Kata (14 and over, below yellow belt) 

1. Jordan Giesinger (Calgary)
2. Gary Swift (Calgary)
3. Wendy McBride (RMD)

Kata (14 and over, above yellow belt) 

1. Eileen Cohorst (RMD)
2. Grayson Clague (RMD)
3. Aimee Ravenstein (RMD)

Non-Contact Kumite (under 70 lbs) 

1. Cory-Dale Stevenson (Calgary)
2. Ben Fenton (Calgary)
3. Brianne Dean (Calgary) & Brady Klapak (Calgary)

Non-contact Kumite (71 lbs and over) 

1. Timothy Atrazhev (Edmonton)
2. Raj Sundaram (Calgary)
3. Emily Wingfield (Calgary) & Sophia Habedus (Calgary)

Knockdown Kumite (12 and under, under 60 lbs) 

1. Lucas Fabbri (Banff)
2. Fin Iles (Banff)
3. Morgann Johnson (RMD) & Tyler Correll (Banff)

Knockdown Kumite (12 and under, 61-70 lbs) 

1. Tyler Pecsi (Banff)
2. Ricky Helfmann (Calgary)
3. Kristine Potter (Calgary) & Chelsea Mouwen (Calgary)

Knockdown Kumite (12 and under, 71-80 lbs) 

1. Wesley Patterson (Banff)
2. Jessica Foster (Cremona)
3. Atley OfNeill (Banff) & Carson Sadler (RMD)

Knockdown Kumite (12 and under, 81-99 lbs) 

1. Seth Whalen (RMD)
2. Meghan Murphy (Calgary)
3. Erika Potter (Calgary) & Natasha Habedus (Calgary)

Knockdown Kumite (12 and under, 100 lbs and over) 

1. Michele Murphy (Calgary)
2. Tachara Larocque (Cremona)
3. Justin Brietzke (Bearspaw) & Akari Otawa (Banff)

Knockdown Kumite (Menfs 13/14 Lightweight) 

1. Scott Potter (Calgary)
2. Ethan Arkinstall (RMD)
3. Dennis Dimond (Calgary) & Kamen Proudfoot (Calgary)

Knockdown Kumite (Menfs 13/14 Heavyweight) 

1. Alex Helfmann (Calgary)
2. Sheldon Richardson (RMD)
3. Jesse Schmidt (Calgary) & Peter Atrazhev (Edmonton)

Knockdown Kumite (Menfs 15/16) 

1. Dominic Furger (Invermere)
2. Max Wong (Calgary)
3. Sean Maddocks (Calgary) & Cody Erikson (Banff)

Knockdown Kumite (Senior men) 

1. Gary Swift (Calgary)
2. Trevor Henderson (Cremona)
3. Doug Potter (Calgary) & Dan Giesinger (Calgary)

Knockdown Kumite (Women 17 and over Lightweight) 

1. Eileen Kohorst (RMD)
2. Lisa Crotty (Banff)
3. Tracy Klettl (Cremona) & Tresa Tocher (Cremona)

Knockdown Kumite (Women 17 and over Heavyweight) 

1. Asya Flaata (RMD)
2. Kaia Lange (Calgary)
3. Lyndsey Heenan (Banff) & Julie Pecsi (Banff)

Knockdown Kumite (Men 17 and over Lightweight) 

1. Adrian DiPaola (Cremona)
2. Michale Henderson (Cremona)
3. Darcy Levesque (Calgary) & Hayden Strangward (Cremona)

Knockdown Kumite (Men 17 and over Heavyweight) 

1. Stian Lange (Calgary)
2. Troy Pipella (Calgary)
3. Ricardo Lacelle (Penticton) & David Henderson (Cremona)

Knockdown Kumite (Open men – lightweight) 

1. Jordan Forget (Calgary)
2. Albert Tio (Vancouver)
3. Matt Stukenberg (Parksville)

Knockdown Kumite (Open men – Heavyweight) 

1. Daymon Miller (Banff)
2. Jeremiah Breeze (Invermere)
3. Nathan Howatt (Edmonton)

Spirit Award Morning:
Max Wong (Calgary)

Spirit Award Afternoon:
Daymon Miller (Banff)

Technical Award Morning:
Seth Whalen (RMD)

Technical Award Afternoon:
Jordan Forget (Calgary)

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