Athletes from the Terrace Shogun Dojo will be packing up and taking off to represent the country again – this time in Cadiz, Spain.
Five members of the dojo will compete in the World Karate Kickboxing Council’s world championships, Oct. 31 to Nov. 5.
They will join about 150 members of Team Canada, who will meet up with 600 athletes from 20 countries for the event.
This is the third time members of the Terrace dojo have made it all the way to the world stage, and sensei Mario Furtado says everyone has been working really hard to get ready for the trip.
Out of the seven athletes who qualified for worlds at nationals in Ottawa last May, five are attending the world event: Dalton Stanvick, Brad Milne and Rajan Sangha, along with dojo sensei's Amber Pipe and Furtado – both of whom will also be competing as well as coaching.
This will be Sangha's third trip to worlds, although he said no matter how many times you go, nerves still show up.
“It's really nerve-racking, it's different every year,” Sangha said.
Last year, he won a bronze medal at worlds, competing in continuation contact, in Albufeira, Portugal.
Stanvick will be a second-time world competitor, and is also the current gold medal champion for Canada in his class for continuous fighting.
And Stanvick said he is feeling pretty good about the trip to Spain.
“I haven't stopped training for two years now,” Stanvick said, explaining he just plans to go, and give it his all.
“Just train hard, that's all you can do.”
Last year at worlds, Stanvick placed second and third, taking home silver in light continuous contact, and bronze for point fighting in his class.
For Brad Milne, it is not only his first world competition, it is also his first time leaving Canada.
The 'rookie' of the group, Milne is newer to the dojo, having trained for less than a year.
He said that he was pretty nervous at nationals, but knows that worlds will be different again.
“I'm definitely nervous, but more excited at the same time,” he explained.
All of the athletes will be arriving four days early to take in the sights of Spain, as Cadiz is a resort destination.
They mentioned one of the things they are looking forward to is the nice weather Spain is currently still having.
However, as per Pipe's standard rules with every competition, cell phones will be shut off, and competitors will be out of reach via Facebook or email to ensure they keep a strong focus throughout the event.
Stanvick and Sangha say they won't even bother bringing their cell phones.
Furtado said both he and Pipe are really proud of their students this year.
“We're (the dojo) going with a lot of confidence,” he said.