Concussion Awareness and Resources

Taekwondo Canada Coaches, Parents and Athletes,

Education around head injury and concussions has become an important focus in all levels of sport. Athlete and participant safety is always the main focus in physical activity, specifically in contact sports such as ours.

Given the recent move by our International Sport Federation the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) to include full head contact competition for Cadet (12-14) aged athletes in both Pan American and World Championship level competition it is imperative that our Taekwondo community have access to resources that will provide important education and knowledge that will help facilitate good decision making regarding the safety of Taekwondo athletes and participants.

Safety and well being of all participants is key to the long term enjoyment of Taekwondo, and it is the individuals closest to the participant – parents and coaches -that will play the biggest role in managing an athletes safety, actively monitoring well being, adequate preparation and training, as well as correctly assessing an athletes readiness for competition that includes full head contact.

The following will provide some good starting points for recognizing what a concussions is, signs and symptoms of concussion, managing a concussion, as well as guidelines around when to return to play after a concussion.

Further concussion Resources for Parents (French) and Coaches (French) as well as Athletes and Teachers can be found at Think First Canada concussion resources.

Please also take the time to read through these links:

Return to Play Guidelines – English

Consignes Relatives Au Retour Au Jeu – French

Pocket Concussion Recognition Tool – English

Sport Concussion Assessment Tool for Ages 5 – 12 – English

Ressources – French

Youth Olympic Games Ranking Points to Date

In accordance with the ranking process for the Youth Olympic Games selection criteria, please find the ranking points after the 2013 Canada Open.

Team invited to the 2013 World Championships

In accordance with the 2013 Senior World Taekwondo Championships Competition Team selection criteria, the athletes, coaches, trainers and medical staff listed below have been invited to represent Canada at the World Championships in Puebla, Mexico, July 14 to 21, 2013.

Please find the ranking points after the 2013 Canada Open on the Taekwondo Canada Website > National Team > Athlete Rankings > World Championships Ranking to date or by following this link.

Athletes

Women

• Fin  (-46)                  YONG, Yvette
• Fly (-49)                    PHAN, Melanie
• Bantam (-53)            LEE, Cecilia
• Feather (-57)            RODGERS, Ruxandra
• Light (-62)                 KRAAYEVELD, Ashley
• Welter (-67)               ILIESCO, Nathalie
• Middle (-73)              VOKEY, Jasmine
• Heavy (+73)              CARUSO, Rachelle

Men

• Fin (-54)                   MUSCAT, Tyler
• Fly (- 58)                   FOSTER, Vincent
• Bantam (-63)            MEGRAOUI, Seddik
• Feather (-68)            LABERGE, Jean-François
• Light (-74)                 POTVIN, Maxime
• Welter (-80)              APRIL-LALONDE, Olivier
• Middle (-87)              BERGERON, Marc-André
• Heavy (+87)              COULOMBE-FORTIER, Francois

Coaches

• Head Coach: Shin Lim
• Alain Bernier
• Paul Germain
• Evangelos Lygeros

Trainers

• Carla Bacco
• Michele Ge

Integrated Support Team

• Dr. Terry DeFreitas, MD
• Kyra Lindsay-Ng, B.P.H.E., CAT(C), CSCS

If you have any questions, please direct them to the High Performance Director, Christian Hrab at christian@wtfcanada.com.

Day 3: Women’s Black Belts steal the show

Day 3 of the 2013 Canada Open was truly a demonstration of the female talent that exists in the sport of taekwondo.

As the remainder of the women’s black belt divisions took to the rings today they consistently demonstrated their elite abilities through intentional and impactful delivery of their skills.

Canadian Skylar Park, Cadet Black Belt Light Middle, stole the show today in each of her three fights and ended up not only walking away with the Gold, but also, qualifying for the Cadet Pan Ams in Mexico in the fall. When asked how she felt about her fights she modestly admitted being content with her performance, except for her last fight, where she noted, “my distancing was off.” Regardless of her distancing issues, she scored three solid headshots.

Tomorrow, the final day of the Open, the black belts can sit back and enjoy a day of recreational and colour belt categories and pat themselves on the back for bringing their very best to this tournament.

Canadian Skylar Park and American Gabriela Rentas meet in the final round of the Cadet Light Middle division.

2013 Canada Open Day 2: Minister Bal Gosal, Korean Diplomacy performance, and the crowd goes wild

TORONTO – Day 2 of the 2013 Canada Open saw Poomsae, the remaining Senior Women Black Belt divisions, most of the Junior Black Belt categories and the official opening ceremonies.

One of the day’s most exciting matches was the final round of the Senior Women Black Belt Light division, where Brazil’s Karem Santos met Mexico’s Paulina Balinas Lira after both winning their way through three matches.

The final was slow to start with the referee prompting the athletes to fight five times until Santos made the first point in the second round. Seven points were scored in the third round ending in 4-4.  As the match went into nail-biting overtime, the spectators went wild and the Mexico team erupted into synchronized chants to encourage a last point – but the match ended without a score. The judges’ decision landed Balinas Lira a Gold medal and Santos, a Silver.

Taekwondo Canada was proud to welcome the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), who spoke at the opening ceremonies about the honour of sport and of events like these. COC Athlete representative and former synchronized diving athlete Marie-Ève Marleau shared inspirational words, from an athlete’s perspective, about attending events of this caliber and the importance of absorbing the experience.

After all the speeches, Master Tommy Chang introduced the Korean Diplomacy Demo Team to a highly-excited crowd and the energy only elevated from there. The team’s performance astonished the crowd with a blend of board breaking, stylized Poomsae and blindfolded apple smashing. As predicted, it was a not-to-miss.

Day 3 will see the rest of Junior Women Black Belt divisions, Cadet Boys and Girls Black Belt divisions, and Youth Boys and Girls Black Belt divisions.

Pieces of wood fly in the air while the Korean Diplomacy Demo Team executes a board-breaking segment during their performance at the opening ceremonies.