Final preparations are taking place at the Sundance Martial Arts centre in Vernon, as Jack Sharkey gets set to compete in his first ever taekwondo national championships.
The International Taekwondo Federation World Championships (ITFWC) take place Sept. 4-10 in Tampere, Finland.
The 14-year-old Sharkey will be competing in the pre-junior boys (over 65 kg) sparring event.
Sharkey was first invited to the national training camp and selections back in May at the Canadian National Championships, held at Vernon鈥檚 Kal Tire Place. The nationals training camp was in Regina, Saskatchewan in July and served as an opportunity for athletes to train for events such as patterns, sparring, special technique (flying) and power breaking.
The ITFWC will host 1,200 black belt athletes from over 60 countries, competing out of the Tampere Exhibition and Sports Center. The event was initially scheduled to take place in 2021, but was postponed due to travel restrictions related to the pandemic.
Sharkey鈥檚 first matchup, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, will be against an Uzebekistan athlete.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great honour to represent my team and my country at the World Championships,鈥� said the Grade 10 VSS student. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to be able to compete at this level and will give it my all.鈥�
Coaching up the Vernon local will be David White, who runs Sundance.
鈥淲e are all excited for Jack to have this opportunity to compete at the highest level in the sport,鈥� said White. 鈥淗e is a dedicated student who works hard at not only improving his own game but also helping others do the same.鈥�
Free live streaming of the event can be found on the ITF YouTube channel, while more information on local taekwondo can be found at vernonkicks.com.
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@B0B0Assman
bowen.assman@vernonmorningstar.com
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