Sensei Nigel Nikolaisen at Northwest Shito-Kai (NWSK) Karate was extremely proud of his competitive team after last year’s inaugural Vancouver Island Championships through the newly-formed Vancouver Island Karate Society, where they came home with a second place finish overall.
So he’s obviously ecstatic that they improved on that finish last week in Nanaimo at the second annual event.
“We took a team of 24 down to Dover Bay high school, and the kids just had a time of it,” he says. “They all showed up, to say the least.”
That may be an understatement. NWSK took home 17 gold medals from the event, another 16 silvers and 12 bronzes, for a medal total medal count of 45. The next closest dojo was Kenzen Sports Katate out of Victoria, who went home with 32 medals.
Each athlete from each dojo competes in individual competitions – individual kata (forms), team kata, kobudo (weaponry) and kumite (free fighting) – and once the results of all of the individual competitions are added up, a team award is given to the top dojo of the dozen or so on the Island that were in attendance.
Among the top performers from the Campbell River dojo on the weekend were Jenna Scott, who won gold in both 14/15 Advanced division kata and kobudo, Alex Movold, who won gold in both 14/15 Advanced team kata and individual kata and added second place finishes in both kobudo and kumite.
James Fagan added four medals of his own to the team total, winning the 10/11 Advanced division Kumite competition and placing second in Team Kata, third in individual kata and third in kobudo.
The competitive team is one of the curriculums offered at NWSK, and it endeavours to take students to the highest levels of the sport.
RELATED: NWSK Karate has huge haul at Pan Ams
“Some of these kids are on their way to Nationals, for sure,” he says.
And the start of that trajectory is what’s next up for the competitive team from NWSK.
“Next month we’re on our way to the provincial team qualifiers with six athletes (Kyle Barnes, Movold, Trevor Potoreiko, Scott, Daniel Wood and Nolan Barnes) at the Richmond Olympic Oval, and with any luck we’ll all be traveling to the National Championships in Calgary in May,” Nikolaisen says. “It’s been a great season so far and I’m just really, really happy and excited for the way that these kids have been developing.”
The entire NWSK roster and their results from the event are as follows:
BOYS
Willam Marshall 8/9 Novice
3rd TK, 3rd Kata, 3rd Kumite
Kaiyas Derhausoff 8/9 Novice
2nd TK, 2nd Kumite
Sam MacLeod 6/7 all ranks
1st TK, 1st, Kumite, 2nd Kata
Stephen Jordan 10/11 Intermediate
2nd Kumite, 3rd Kata, 3rd TK
Joey Fagan 8/9 Intermediate
2nd TK, 2nd Kata
Jacob Williams 8/9 Intermediate
top 5 Kata
Nolan Field 12/13 Advanced
2nd Kobudo, 2nd Kata, 3rd TK
Nolan Barnes 12/13 Advanced
top 5 Kumite
Owen Tomlinson 10/11 Advanced
2nd TK, 2nd Kata, 1st Kumite
James Fagan 10/11 Advanced
3rd Kobudo, 3rd Kata, 2nd Team Kata, 1st Kumite
Wynn Clark 10/11 Advanced
3rd TK, 2nd Kata, 2nd Kumite
Emry Clark 12/13 Advanced
3rd TK, 1st Kobudo
Michael Carlin 10/11 Advanced
3rd TK, 3rd Kata
Tyrus Johannson 12/13 Intermediate
2nd Kata, 1st Kumite
Kyle Barnes 14/15 Advanced
1st TK, 1st Kumite, 3rd Kata
Alex Movold 14/15 Advanced
1st TK, 1st Kata, 2nd Kobudo, 2nd Kumite
Daniel Wood 14/15 Advanced
1st TK, 2nd Kata, 3rd Kobudo
GIRLS
Jaimee Scott 8/9 Intermediate
2nd TK, 3rd Kumite, 3rd Kata
Nikki MacLeod 10/11 Intermediate
1st Kata, 1st Kumite, 1st TK
Eve Record 8/9 Intermediate
1st Kata, 1st Kumite, 1st TK
Jenna Scott 14/15 Advanced
1st Kata, 1st Kobudo
Keeli Stewart 10/11 Advanced
2nd TK, 2nd Kata, 1st Kumite
Isabella Fagan 12/13 Intermediate
1st Kata
Isabella Barnes 10/11 Novice
3rd Kata, 3rd Kumite
