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One of Island’s biggest martial arts events in Parksville

Over 260 taekwondo students will be competing at the Parksville Curling Club this Saturday.
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Master Brett Fee (tournament director) displays some of the medals that will be won at this Saturday’s 2013 Vancouver Island Taekwondo Championships at the Parksville Curling Club.

Over 260 taekwondo students will be competing at the Parksville Curling Club this Saturday in what may be the biggest martial arts event ever to hit the mid-Island.

“This is a great chance for interested people to drop by and see what a taekwondo tournament looks like,” said organizer Brett Fee of the Parksville Taekwondo Academy.

“This is a way for local students to get more experience including a lot of first-timers,” he said.

He explained that while they have students competing at provincial and national levels, the newer or less experienced students can’t get to the Lower Mainland where most of the tournaments are held.

The 2013 Vancouver Island Taekwondo Championships are definitely the largest martial arts event Fee’s aware of in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area and possibly the largest on the Island north of Victoria.

With 12 schools registered, students from age five to adult will compete, but it’s just about having fun and everyone will get a medal, he said.

“It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about having  fun, getting more experience and getting everybody exited about the sport.”

The sport is growing steadily in the area, he added, with his school alone brining over 100 of their roughly 350 students.

It is also a great chance for the area’s 10 young referees to gain experience and increase the overall quality of officiating.

Doors open at 9 a.m. May 11 at the curling club in Parksville Community Park and runs till around 6 p.m. Entrance at the door is $5 for adults, $10 for families and under six are free.