Strathmore Provincial Martial Arts could be a contender on Team Canada

12 students from Provincial Martial Arts Strathmore attended the Shuswap Open in Salmon Arm this weekend. All the students earned a medal, and this also marks the first step in qualifying for Team Canada to compete at International Martial Arts Council (IMAC) worlds in 2024.

Head instructor of Provincial Martial Arts Strathmore Meghan Pollock started out in Calgary and then decided to start a club out in Strathmore, where they are currently working out of the Trinity Christian Academy School with 35 students.

"We opened in 2019 and then with COVID obviously everything got shut down for a couple of years, but we've been running as much as we can since then."

The Shuswap Open is an annual tournament that is hosted by the Provincial Martial Arts schools in British Columbia.

"We run one in Calgary and then one in BC every year and it is a qualifying tournament where you can go onto Team Canada and then the world with the International Martial Arts Council and they host that event in Las Vegas."

If you place in the top three at two or more events that are held that are qualifiers then you are eligible to be on Team Canada.

"We had three people who were placed in three divisions, and you have to place to move on."

There will be another open in Calgary in 2024 and then again, a Shuswap open next year in May and that will determine if the team makes it onto Team Canada to compete with the IMAC in 2024.

Ely Briggs - placed 2nd in team kata, 4th in point sparring
Mandie Mather - placed 2nd in individual kata, 1st in point sparring
Nicholas Seymour -placed 3rd in individual kata and point sparring
JP Hrycuk - placed 3rd point sparring 4th in kata
Jocelyn Giesbrecht - placed 3rd in point sparring
Jaylah Giesbrecht - placed 2nd in point sparring
Bella Slater - placed 2nd in point sparring
Emmarsyn Briggs - placed 2nd in point sparring and team kata
Cadence Phillips - placed 1st in individual kata, 2nd in team kata and 2nd in point sparring
Monty Wilson - placed 2nd in individual kata and 3rd in point sparring
Silas Giesbrecht - placed 1st in point sparring
Kinsley Mather - placed 1st in individual kata and 2nd in point sparring