The
2004 Quebec Open International Martial Arts Championships took place on April
30th and May 1st, 2004 and was an enormous success. Promoter,
Clermont Poulin and his staff hosted this event with abundant
professionalism and hard work to make it a memorable weekend for martial
artists and spectators from around the world.
Becca Ross wins at the Quebec Open!
Approximately 1326 competitors from Canada, USA, Guatamala, Germany,
Italy, France, and Croatia filled over 289 divisions. The event
was held at the Peps University in Quebec where 5,660 spectators
gathered to watch the excitement. NASKA,
KRANE and NBL superstars appeared to do their thing from top teams such
as Studio Unis, JPM, Straight Up, CJB, Phillips Creative Management, Top
Ten, The Kick Team and Equipe Team.
The event started Friday evening with adult blackbelt musical weapons up
on the stage centered in this spacious arena. John Boyd performed
his intense and technically sound sword form taking the division.
It was a close decision over Matt Caito's acrobatics and Cedric
Ferdinand's strength and precision. What a way to start this
event!
The team fighting divisions that took place on the floor continued the
enthusiasm. Teams YKO, Team Italia, Studio Unis and Top Ten all
participated in the event with Studio Unis reigning victorious over all.
The high flying Matt Caito raised the bar in the adult male black belt
musical forms division, along with Jean Francois Robiteille, JP Caron
and Derek Grace. Steve Terada combined break dancing and
techniques with a high degree of difficulty to take the division among
all of this talent. Lauren Kearney held true to her reputation and
showcased her intensity and power to obtain the first place slot, with
Marie Becker in second place.
Daniel Sterling made his first performance of the night in the male black
belt weapons division. Michael Baker with his traditional bo form
and Vince Johnson with his smooth acrobatic kama form were both crowd
pleasers. Matt Caito and Daniel Sterling were tied for first
place, with Daniel landing in the first place slot. The talent was
evident and the energy in the arena was intense and exciting, which only
increased in the Extreme division. JP Caron started things off
with a creative and highflying routine. Other competitors were
Will Valentine, Steve Terada and Matt Caito. The talent in this
division was CRAZY, and you couldn't help but stand up and yell for
these guys. Daniel Sterling took the division with his practically
flawless Extreme routine. This was a close one as Matt Caito
showed us the meaning of creative, and Steve Terada continued to mix it
up by pulling tricks and turning heads. Will Valentine turned some
heads as well, as he just barely managed
to pull his uniform back up after a quick change. He owes Matt
Caito extra thanks for helping to keep the pants up while he stood in
ready position to receive his scores from the judges. The
excitement only increases!
World Champion Becca Ross with Shihan Don
Rodrigues.
The women's blackbelt weapons division kept the crowd on their feet with
Marie Becker taking the division with her bo form.
The juniors were represented well by Becca Ross, Tommy Paquette, Nick
Schilling, Nick Merlin, Sage Northcutt among many other out standing
young martial artists. The talent and precision of these young
people is truly amazing and I truly enjoy watching them compete.
Saturday Morning started promptly at 9 am with 32 rings running at full
speed. The blackbelts were on both sides of the arena and the
colored belts were in the center which allowed spectators and
competitors to move about more freely this year. This was a change
from last year, which is definitely classified as a major improvement.
The days events moved about at a good pace without much lag time, thanks
to the precision of the dedicated coordinators. Moving from ring
to ring around the arena allowed Sport Martial Arts.Com reporters to see
the amazing talent and attitudes of the competitors at this event.
Studio Unis stood out with all of their youth and adult competitors that
proved they could stand next to some of the top NASKA/KRANE competitors
in the world. Major kudos to all of the judges and to the
arbitrator Don Rodriques for making Saturdays competition amazing.
Fighting divisions ran smoothly but competitively.
There was a very high level of skill and intensity in these divisions
from youth all the way up to senior black belt divisions. Male,
Female, young and executive competitors all displayed speed and agility
attempting to stand in that number one slot. This level of energy
foreshadowed what was to come at the Finals.
2004
Quebec Open Finals
Did this night show stand out among other NASKA/KRANE events?
Did
it ever! Spectators walked into the event to see images of fighters projected up on the wall of the arena.
Lights
flashed, music played and the energy flowed. The ring was in the center of the arena with VIP
tables lined up along the side, and waitresses went around taking orders
and helping to satisfy the on lookers. A very professional atmosphere was created by Mr.
Poulin and his hard
working staff. Dan
Lafontaine buzzed around the arena helping to make sure that the event
went off just as they had planned it, which
worked as the show began exactly at 7:30 as promised. It started with Clermont
Poulin giving an introduction to all competitors and spectators, which
included a heartfelt thank you to all involved in making the event a
success and a special thanks to
Larry Carnahan, Ritch Baptista and Don Rodrigues.
It was also announced that this year is also the 30th Anniversary of
Studio Unis. Congratulations
are definitely in order.
Jessica
Poulin congratulated her father on stage with an award and went on to
participate in a opening number
along with many other dancers. The girls displayed their talent
and energy during their "Cleveland Shuffle" routine.
These young ladies really had some truly amazing talent and got the
crowd pumped up for the big show!
The first event was the youth weapons division. The Kick Team was
well represented by Nick Schilling and his high energy kama form.
William
Walkey of the Mohegan Sun National karate team took the stage with his
traditional bo form and was followed by the adorable Casey Bowningham of Team Chat who surprised those have not seen
her before with her intense and powerful bo form. Becca Ross
performed a well choreographed bo form with incredible precision and
heart, which got her the Grand Championship in the youth weapons
division.
Ross Levine of WKF displayed his strength and focus during his
traditional bo form in the 14-17 year old division. He
was followed by Melissa Machaun of Canadian Karate Alliance who also
showcased her intense and technical traditional bo form. Robbie Andreozzi of J Phillips Creative Management team mixed it up with
the one and only chuck form of night. He combined speed, gymnastics and weaponry to make
the crowd roar with energy. Amanda Pimental of Team Puma utilized her gymnastic ability to pull of a
strong kama form. Robbie Andreozzi took the Grand Championship in
this exciting and talent filled division. This happens to be
Robbie's first NASKA Grand, but I doubt it is his last.
Nick Schilling and Becca Ross meet again in the 13 and under open hand
forms division. They were joined by Sabrina Sauvigny doing a high
energy creative form and Nick Merlin representing Team United with a
powerful tradition Hon Su. Becca performed a creative form
highlighting her flexibility and talent with a variety of kicking
combinations. Becca Ross and Nick Schilling are even as far as
this event goes because Nick obtained the Grand Championship this time
around. He combined high flying kicks and gymnastics to a
classical beat that kept getting faster as the form went on, but not too
fast for Mr. Schilling as he was right on with every beat that played.
The 14-17 year old Open Hand Forms Division did not let the energy die
down one bit. Ross Levine was powerful as always in his
traditional form. Lidnsay Orr of CDN National Karate Team showed the crowd her strong stances and clean
techniques in her
traditional form. Liva
Rafidisson put the crowd on
the edge of their seats with her front walk over and straight up kicking
techniques. The intensity was turned up even more with Robbie
Andreozzi's fast paced acrobatic musical form. I am not one to say
I told you so, but I did tell you that the grand championship Robbie one
in the weapons division would not be his last and I was right as he took
the grand in this division as well. The energy in the Peps
University was incredibly high, but the pace kept flowing.
Team Paul Mitchell was showcased in the 18 and up Weapons division, as
each competitor was from that team.
Daniel Sterling took the stage with a musical kama
form that amazed the spectators as he usually does. Lauren Kearney
was on top of her game as well and performed a bo form that was on fire.
Just when the crowd thought it could not get any better, John Boyd
displayed absolute perfection with his sword form, receiving 10's across
the board and a standing ovation from the entire arena. Seriously,
Jonathan Boyd played the crowd and all 5,660 people were on their feet
screaming at the top of their lungs for this young competitor. The
form included many techniques classified at a high degree of difficulty,
and were performed with such charisma and intensity that Jonathan Boyd
simply stole the hearts of his audience with a grin from ear to ear.
The fighters were displayed next, and did not let the audience down.
It was a Jr. Tag Team Fighting Battle between Team USA coached by Dennis
Malloy and Team Canada coached by Bernard Paquette, and I don't use the
term battle lightly.
The
boys and girls fought their hearts out and displayed a strong level of
skill and team work. Team Canada reigned victorious in the end.
After a brief intermission, Steve Terada and Vince Johnson came
together to get the crowd back into the event.
They combined martial arts and comedy as only they
can pull off, and managed to get most everyone back to their seats and
refocused on show. These guys are smooth operators!
A demonstration by Justin Eaton, Vince Johnson, Jonathan Boyd, Lauren
Kearney, Will Valentine, Steve Terada and Holly House was next. It
included sections of synchronization and sections that highlighted each
martial artist. Studio Unis continued the display of talent with a
kama demo. The final demonstration was very interesting and unique
as it involved Studio Unis students dressed as ancient samurais in full
dress. They were performing a very well choreographed routine to
the music of Evanescence. The crowd again got to their feet for
these young people. It was evident that they practiced hard for
this event, and boy did it ever pay off.
Lauren
Kearney was back on the stage to perform an intense musical form.
If the saying "Attitude is everything" is true, then this
young lady has it all. Her strong and precise moves got her the
win over the very talented Marie... Who performed a very fluent and
graceful kung fu form.
Then it was on to the 18 and over Male Forms division. Steve Terada
of JPM displayed his speed and agility in his action packed creative
form. He was pulling tricks left and right and sent the energy in
the arena through the roof. He was followed by Eric Hung from Team
Straight Up who performed his traditional form with flawless precision.
Eric Trombley of Studio Unis performed his first form of the night,
utilizing his flexibility and gymnastic ability to put together a solid
creative form. Daniel Sterling was last but certainly not least,
as he cranked out an amazing creative form getting him the Grand
Championship in this division.
The
Team Synchronized Forms were next and kept the energy flowing.
Tommy Paquette and Jason Tankston Bourelly were up first and showed the
crowd what synchronization is all about. Michael Baker and Alyssa
Faiola changed the pace as they performed their traditional hon su
modified; however, they did not let the level of intensity
decrease. They combined a strong traditional form with a little
comedy which turned out to be a real crowd pleaser.
Team Studio Unis, represented by Matt Mercier and Jean Francois
Robiteille, were up next and gave an unforgettable performance taking
the grand championship in this division with straight 10's from the
judges. This hometown team stole the show and received much love
from the crowd. It was late in the show, but it was right on time
and the crowd had not died down a bit.
The crowd got a break from these exciting forms and got a taste of some
equally intense fighting divisions.
Up first was a Tag Team Fighting Match between Team USA (Chris Rodrigues and
Jesse Goldberg) and Team Canada. This was a nail biting time for each fan as the points were traded back
and forth. Each team tried to formulate their own strategic plan
to land a technique and get the needed points. With a score of 9
to 11, Chris and Jesse pulled off a win for the USA. The applause filled
the arena for these talented young men.
The show was closed out with the International Team Fighting Division,
which got the crowd out of their seats. Canada and USA combined to
form one team that reigned victorious over Team Italia. Studio
Unis fighters faced Team Canada and again showed their fighting skills
to gain yet another victory.
The 2004 Quebec Open Martial Arts tournament was a huge success from
start to finish.
The
competitors, spectators, judges and promoters were all top notch and
came together to create an event that was amazing and will go on to be a
memorable inspiration to promoters everywhere. Special thanks to
Clermont Poulin and his students for hosting such a professional and
well run event. Your respectful attitudes and strong martial arts
spirits do not go unrecognized. We all look forward to next years
event.
Quebec Open
Black Belt Winners
Adult Weapons
18& up M/W
Jonathan Boyd
Adult Forms
18& up Men
Daniel Sterling
Adult Form
18& up Women
Lauren Kearney
Adult Weapons
30& up M/W
Jeff Liotta
Adult Forms
30&up M/W
Jeff Liotta
Youth Traditional Forms 13& under
Boys
Nick Merlin
Youth Creative Forms
13& under Boys
Nick Schilling
Youth Traditional Forms 13& under
Girls
Sabrina Saulnier
Youth Creative Forms
13& under Girls
Becca Ross
Youth Traditional Weapons 13& under
Girls Kacey Mooneyham
Youth Creative Weapons 13& under
Girls
Becca Ross
Youth Traditional Forms 14-17 Boys
Ross Levine
Youth Creative Forms
14-17 Boys
Robbie Andreozzi
Youth Traditional Forms 14-17 Girls
Lyndsay Orr
Youth Creative Forms
14-17 Girls
Liva Rafidison
Youth Traditional Weapons 14-17 Girls
Mellisa Mcshane
Youth Creative Weapons 14-17 Girls
Arianna Pimental
Youth Overall Forms
13& under B/G
Nick Schilling
Youth Overall Weapons
13& under B/G
Becca Ross
Youth Overall Forms
14-17 B/G
Robbie Andreozzi
Youth Overall Weapons
14-17 B/G
Robbie Andreozzi
Adult Sparring
18-29 lightweight Marc Monsour
Adult Sparring
18-29 middleweight
Jason Bourelly
Adult Sparring
18-29 heavyweight
Davi Bossinotte
Adult Sparring
30-39 lightweight Walter Baric
Adult Sparring
30-39 heavyweight
Zvanko Grillo
Adult Sparring
40& up
Steve Anderson
Adult Overall Sparring
18& up men
Jason Bourelly
Adult Overall Sparring
18& up women
Claire Coccaza
Junior Team Fighting Team Canada
Team Sync
Team Studio Unis
Team Demo
Team Cascade France
Tag Team
Team USA
International Team Fighting
Team America
KRANE Heavyweight Canadian Yannick Turgeon
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