The Burnaby Karate Academy topped all clubs at the recent Karate B.C. provincials.
The North Burnaby club placed first among more than 50 clubs taking part, garnering nine first-place medals in the amateur all-belts competition on Saturday, Nov. 17 and another 31 total medals, including 13 gold in the elite grouping held on the Sunday. In all, Burnaby Karate won 46 medals - 22 of them gold.
Burnaby Karate martial artists also won top athlete of the year honours from Karate B.C.
Shaun Dhillon and Jusleen Virk won male and female athletes of the year, while Derek Chan also picked up the junior male award.
In provincial competition, Arash Beytoei won the men's under-67 kilogram kumite or sparring final and also earned a bronze in the open category for Burnaby Karate.
Matt Bickel was a winner in kumite in the men's u-75 kg division.
Cedomir Vasic and Chan placed second and third in their respective weight classes. Vasic also won a gold in the 18-20 age group kumite.
Acadamy fighters Andrea Maikawa, Cindy Jacob and Kim Logan won at u-61, u-68 and +68 kg, respectively, in the women's competition.
Inga Shishko picked up a couple of second-place medals, including the silver in the open women's kumite.
Reid Lofstrom and Anisha Virk were second and third in their respective weight classes.
Lofstrm and Logan also earned silvers in the 18-to20 age group kumite.
Burnaby's Victoria Barusic, competing out of the West River dojo in Vancouver, had a couple of silver-medal finishes, including runner-up to Virk in the women's 18-to20, u-53 kg division.
Other Burnaby academy female winners included Isabel Chan, Harpreet Sidhu and Vanessa Vung. Gurkamal Gill, Rachel Ko, Alexandra Zaborniak and Pawan Sidhu also earned a spot on the podium.
On the boys' side of the mat, Matt Ly won the 18to-20 kumite. Brendan Ly won at 16 and 17, while Jai Sanghera took the 1415 final. Masaki Soehardhi, Joel Tai, Zach Chan and Petar Didak also medalled.
In Saturday's finals, Burnaby Karate Academy outpointed sixth-place Burnaby Chito-Ryu and 19th overall Nikkei.
Michael Plunkett won the 10-11 intermediate boys' novice kumite, while Harley Beaudry led a podium sweep for the academy in the novice class along with Sid Ahuja and Gur Hothi. Parris Gill also medalled.
Ellen Thomas topped the 12-13 novice kumite division.
Stephi Zaborniak and Maya Soehardhi topped the girls' 10-11 kumite, while Gurmeet Sidhu won the intermediate division.
Melissa Chan won gold in kumite and bronze in kata in the girls' 12-13 division.
Cassia Kitaoka, Zoe Ye and Bogada Eshadi also won their respective kumite groups. Zoe Fong and Natalie Santi also medalled.
Burnaby Chito-Ryu martial artists also did well.
Veronika Juris placed first in kata and second in kumite in the women's advanced group.
Jomar Mascardo won the 14-15 boys' kata, while Milos Miscevic was first in the 8-9 boys' kumite.
Ajay Gill was second in the 12-13 boys' kata and third in kumite.
Delbert Fizzell was second in the master men's forms and sparring. Sergey Kargopolov was first and second in men's novices disciplines.
Daniel Dang, Arneil Gill, Lucy Ojelel, Maya Miscevic and Natalia Sharma also medalled for Chito-Ryu.
Hikaru Morita won Nikkei's sole gold in 10-11 novice boys' kata or forms. Austin Kong picked up a pair of bronze medals in
intermediate 16/17 disciplines. D.J. Tang and Kohei Yamamura also medalled for Nikkei.
