HUARD’S
24TH ANNUAL BATTLE OF MAINE MARTIAL ARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Mark Schmetzer
The 24th
Annual Battle of Maine Martial Arts Championships took place on
Saturday, March 20, 2004 at the Sukee Arena in Winslow, Maine.
The event was promoted by Randy, Mike and Mark Huard and the
Huard’s Martial Arts School. The Battle of Maine is one of the largest and most
prestigious sport karate events held in New England.
The event was rated by IPPONE and rated A by Maine S.M.AR.T.
It featured over 154 divisions and received statewide cable
television and newspaper coverage. Part of the proceeds will benefit the
Children’s Miracle Network. Over
1,100 spectators and 640 competitors attended this outstanding event.
Prior to the event on
Thursday Master Young Won and members of K.I.C.K. Team (Jonathan Boyd,
Ryan Redfoot, Nick Schilling, Andrew Schmetzer, Kristopher Schmetzer,
and Jake Strickland) conducted seminars on what is required to become a
World Class competitor. The
first session for Tiny Tigers and Dragons included instruction on the
importance of stretching, proper stances, blocks, and punches. They later learned a few basic combinations.
In the second session the older athletes were given the same
instructions plus more advanced techniques.
It was a very exciting night of martial arts instruction and
exhibition for all!
On Friday Lauren
Kearney and members of K.I.C.K. Team provided private lessons for the
athletes wanting individual instructions.
Friday night concluded with a dinner honoring Tori Andreozzi.
It was an evening that touched all of our hearts.
Our prayers are with Tori and her wonderful family.
The main event was
Saturday when the action continued at the Battle of Maine.
It attracted many of the world’s best competitors from K.I.C.K.
Team, Team JPhillips Creative Management, Team Paul Mitchell, Team
Sansei, Studio Unis, Team Sidekick, and Team Straight Up.
They came from all over U.S.A and Canada.
The event started with spectacular individual demonstrations from
the special guests. These special guests included Robbie Andreozzi,
Jalil Atlaschi, Richie Bichara, Jonathan Boyd, Chrissy Concepcion,
Jennifer Espina, Justin Eaton, Tegan Isartel, Lauren Kearney, Joshua
Quartin, Ryan Redfoot, Becca Ross, Nick Schilling, Elizabeth Sipes,
Andrew Schmetzer, Kristopher Schmetzer, Jake Strickland, and Al
Szafranski. It really
energized the crowd. The
demonstration concluded with a group performance that included Andreozzi,
Atlaschi, Boyd, Concepcion, Eaton, Kearney, Redfoot, Schilling, A.
Schmetzer, K. Schmetzer, and Strickland.
There was also some
outstanding New England Sport Karate Teams that attended the battle,
such as Jukado All Stars, Pushard’s Sport Karate Team, Team Tao, HSK
Team, Team Excel and many others.
The tournament
started with the Youth Divisions and proceeded through the Adult
Divisions, including the heart warming Handicapable Divisions.
Being the parent of a son with Down’s syndrome I was
appreciative of watching these athletes.
Immediately after the
demonstrations the special guests along with Television Celebrity
Christian Copelin, provided photos and autographs with local competitors
and spectators.
After the
eliminations concluded, the division winners competed for the Grand
Championships. Winners
included:
Grand
Champion Winners
Men
& Women Forms Grand Champion – Allan Viernes
Senior
Men Point Fighting – Wayne Mellos
Women’s
Point Fighting – Felicia Whitten
Men
and Woman Weapons – Andy Da'mato
Chanbara
Grand Champion – Shane Gallagher
Men’s
Fighting – Robbie Lavoie
Youth
Black Belt Overall – Cory Lutkus
Adult
Under Belt Overall – Clint Childs
The Battle of Maine
was one of the best ran tournaments that any competitor or spectator
could attend. We truly
enjoyed the weekend and offer our gratitude to Mark Huard and Huard’s
Martial Arts for being tremendous hosts and promoting a truly great
tournament. We hope to see
you at the 2005 Battle of Maine.
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