A slight delay due to an unexpected late winter storm was not about to put a damper on the 18th Annual Nickel Capital Budo Challenge at Cambrian College.
Co-hosted by both the Sudbury School of Martial Arts and KMAC (Korean Martial Arts Centre) on March 21, the event assembled athletes from 17 schools from across Northern Ontario, with more than 100 divisions being contested in the four main categories: open hand forms, weapons forms, self-defence and sparring.
The single-day competition also doled out hardware in 12 Grand Championships, with the winners required to place first in their own respective division, as well as matching up against other age groups and/or gender groups.
In the end, locals walked away with the top awards in 10 of 12 categories, with Sarra Gratton (Sudbury KMAC) capturing the Adult Men's & Women's Black Belt Sparring, the first time a female participant achieved this feat since the tournament was launched.
Remaining Grand Champions included:
Stephanie Aubertin (Valley KMAC) - Women's Coloured Belt Forms
Jurnee Parisotto-Charron (Sudbury Benoit Martial Arts) - Women's Black Belt Forms
Aiden Lavoie (Sudbury KMAC) - Junior Black Belt Sparring
Eric Audette (Sudbury Oriental Arts Academy) - Men's Coloured Belt Forms
Marissa Meandro (Sudbury Benoit Martial Arts) - Junior Black Belt Forms
Lucie Sloan (Sudbury KMAC) - Junior Novice Forms
Léo Fortin (Sudbury KMAC) - Junior Intermediate Forms
Cassyra Walia (Sudbury KMAC) - Junior Advanced Forms
Keith Pollocks (North Bay Marceau’s Martial Arts) - Ginzo Coloured Belt Forms
Zephyrr Rouleau (Sault Ste Marie Gencarelli's Martial Arts) - Men’s Black Belt Forms
Nick Anness (Sudbury KMAC) - Ginzo Black Belt Forms
