A new kind of tournament has spurred excitement for its faithful, thanks to an eagerness do to better

There’s something about car rides, especially long ones, that bring out conversations that might
not have happened otherwise. With plenty of time to spare and nothing to do but sit, books and
devices can only do so much. Eventually, you talk.
While visiting Korea with the Whitecourt Taekwondo Club, Master Jim Rennie and Master Cindy
Richardson got deep into a conversation that only a long drive could spur. The pair were
dreaming about what they would do if they could take the last 32 years’ worth of local
tournaments, throw them out, and start over. What would they do differently? What would be the
same?
“Those types of conversations are invaluable because for me, for instance, a lot of the times
as a person gets older, you just keep doing the same things over and over again, and I don’t like
that, and I hope I’m never that person. I want to be someone who thinks about doing it better or
making something more exciting,” explained Rennie.
One of the top priorities the pair came up with was value for money. “Fifty percent of the fighters
in a traditional tournament only get one fight. Sometimes it’s more than fifty percent,” Rennie
added. For athletes travelling to attend a tournament, the thought of only getting to fight once or
do one poomsae (solo pattern) didn’t give the value they thought someone should get out of
attending.
So, the pair decided to reinvent the tournament, aiming to get each athlete on the mat more
than once. At the end of November, the organizing team from Whitecourt Taekwondo put the
plan into action for the first time. “We didn’t know if it was going to work, which is a bit of a
gamble, but the people involved with organizing it can figure out anything, and they did it. I’m
very proud of our club, our volunteers and the vision of a small group to create something better
for students. I think we should always do that at every tournament in Alberta or elsewhere,” said
Rennie.
The changes were immense. Instead of only once, every fighter hit the mat at least three times,
and everyone performed their patterns (poomsae) at least twice. For Keith Martin, who travelled
from Slave Lake with his children, the changes were a big hit. “Last time, if they lost one match,
they were done, and then it was kind of sad. My sons enjoy the way they are doing it now. If you
come for the whole day but only have one poomsae and one fight, it’s a lot of downtime. You’re
there for eight hours and only doing stuff for ten minutes. So, this is great,” he said. It was his
family’s third time attending Whitecourt’s tournament, and he hopes to see the same format
used next year. “Thank you very much to the volunteers who made this event happen,” he
added.
Desiree Hartwig from Onoway is another traveller happy with the changes. She used to attend
tournaments with her children. Now, it was her grandchildren participating. “I love the way this
tournament is organized. There’s no real waiting in line unless you’re waiting for your turn in
your event. It’s great. I love that there’s always something happening. We’re never not watching
something.”

The tournament has always brought hundreds of visitors to the community, and with the
feedback received; those numbers could go even higher as the word gets out. “We want to be
known as the tournament where you get the most value for the time,” said Rennie. On top of the
extra fights and extended playoff schedule, the tournament also brought back an oldie but a
goodie, Tag Team Sparring.
“It hasn’t happened in forty years in Alberta,” said Rennie. The reason is simple. It takes a lot of
support. Most tournaments don’t have the manpower to run such a significant event within their
tournament, leaving the popular competition on the chopping block of the competitive circuit
provincially for four decades. “You must have a lot of volunteers to do what we are doing.
Whitecourt’s always got an abundance of volunteers. There’s a lot of logistics, but we’ve got the
right combination of instructors who can dream up exciting opportunities.” There were roughly
50 volunteers at the tournament.
The newly designed tournament also featured the youngest category ever. “The three- and
four-year-old division, we’ve never tried that before. There’s never been a chance in Canada for
little kids to compete like that. It was cool to see what the kids liked and their reactions to it. For
the parents, that was probably the first time their children had ever competed in something,”
said Rennie.
Classes for three- and four-year-old kids continue to grow locally, so adding the age into the
tournament made sense. “Many parents don’t realize their kids can take part in an organized
activity at that age. And it’s a bit of chaos (he chuckled), but the kids love it. They are learning
how to listen, which I’m proud of,” said Rennie.
Fighters from Saskatchewan, southern Alberta and as far north as High Level attended the 33rd
Annual Whitecourt Taekwondo Championship on November 30 at the AJMC. The feedback
since has been very positive. Masters, athletes, and their families have spoken highly of the
new competition format used in Whitecourt.
“I’m so proud to see a community come together. We probably have more volunteers than most
of the tournaments in Edmonton, and they have a lot more people to draw from, which is
interesting and our turnout is second to none. It just makes me proud to be from Whitecourt. It
shows that small towns can do things as well as anyone, if not better. That’s small-town
attitude, and that’s why I’m proud to live here.”