Trinity Taekwon-Do has had a very successful 2017-18 campaign, highlighted by a good showing at the Western Canadian Championships April 20 and 21 in Regina. "I was quite happy with how the (Western Canadian) Championships went. I would have liked to have a few more representatives because we only had four this year, but with it being in Regina, it is a pretty good distance away from home, said Cameron Macdonald who is the Founder and Head Instructor at Trinity Taekwon-Do. "I was happy to have four members go and I was happy with the results. Obviously, we could learn, grow and do better every time but those who stepped up to the plate and went, I was excited for their results as well as the growing and learning experiences from that tournament." Trinity had four medals once the Championship was all said and done in a competition with more than 280 combatants. Graeme Galliott won the bronze medal in patterns and silver in sparring, while Tim Wuthrich and Derek Boot brought home bronze in patterns and sparring respectively. Derek Lenson just missed the podium with a fourth place finish. "Individually, I really was happy with each athlete. My 10-year-old Graeme (Galliott) has shown keen interest in competitions and seems to be going to every tournament we have. His growth is just a testament to the dedication and going to these events every time they come," Macdonald said. "My 13-year-old, Derek (Boot), was in his first tournament as a black belt and I think for him individually was awesome. Just for him to be able to experience black belt competition for the first time and have to learn a lot on the fly ... it's a lot different from a black (belt) to a colour belt. I think for me as a coach, that was one of the highlights. "During his two rounds, I could just see him really learning on the fly and adapt to a whole different level of sparring. It was really great to see." "My other two (Tim Wuthrich and Derek Lenson) are avid competitors, an adult red belt (Wuthrich) and 17-year-old black belt (Lenson). They go to a lot of tournaments so they're pretty used to the compete level and they did great. Derek (Lenson) competed in a specialty board breaking division, which is always fun to see and I think he has great potential if he continues with that ... he didn't medal but I think he could win a medal next time if he keeps working hard at it." Macdonald added the four individuals at the Western Canadian Championships is beneficial to the club as a whole. "We can feed off the four students doing well as a club and I'm already seeing that. For the upcoming Alberta Cup in June, we've already doubled our total to go to that tournament," Macdonald said. "As a whole club we can build around and feed off of those who compete and rally around them. Hopefully it generates more interest as a club." The group is now in the middle of preparing for the Alberta Cup, which will take place June 2 in Lethbridge. "We've already began training, we're just finalizing our list of competitors that will be taking part in the tournament. We're sitting around 10 to 12 athletes that are going down to the Alberta Cup and it's a really great tournament. They've held it in Lethbridge two years ago, it was a really well run tournament and we had a lot of success so I'm hoping to repeat that this year," Macdonald said. "In terms of training, we're going to have to do a couple weekend training sessions so I can really focus in and hone the skills of those going to the tournament." Macdonald said he doesn't really have any expectations in terms of the number of medals the group wins, but wants to make sure everyone has a positive experience. "As a coach and instructor, I'd like to see our students succeed, but that doesn't always mean medals. For a student to go to their first tournament and have a positive experience is worth more to me than a medal," Macdonald said. "Do I want them to do well? Do I want them to medal? Yes. But it's not everything and as long as they have a fun and positive experience, that's all that I can really ask for."
