CANADA'S FINEST COMPETE IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL!

--Andrew Cabilan

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – The first day of spring is often indicated by +10 degree temperature and the absence of snow but the warm weather which engulfed Southern Ontario definitely did not reach the Northern territory of the Nation’s Capital on this weekend. On the other hand, the competition at the Douvris Classic definitely more than made up for it as each Forms and Fighting division was bringing the heat to the Travelodge Hotel and Convention Centre.

John and Peter Douvris hosted this NMAC “A” Rated tournament in a family-friendly establishment with an indoor water park – complete with a wave pool and waterslide. With the date conveniently situated during the March Break season, it was a good opportunity for parents to take advantage of this time to squeeze in a holiday for their children in addition to the competition. The competition was divided into two rooms – one room designated for the Black Belt divisions and the other for the Under Black Belt divisions.

The Douvris Brothers are well reputed instructors to the tournament scene as they have produced many of Canada’s top fighters which include Robbie Lavoie, Marc Monsour, the Aversa Brothers and past champions such as Miguel Moreno and Frank DeCaria. The Douvris Brothers are also no strangers to promoting tournaments. With both John and Peter holding leadership roles in the WKA and the newly formed WKC, they have been heavily involved in the planning stages for the Canadian Nationals in previous years. This year is no different as they are also responsible for putting together the Nationals which will take place in May. With $600 being awarded for Black Belt Forms and Men’s Fighting and $300 for Women’s Fighting, it was sure to bring in Canada’s finest competitors to the Capital of Canada. Making the lengthy trek was the family trio of Mike, John and Patti – you know them better as The Palitti Family. Although they took a break from competing at this event, all three lent their time to judge the multitude of divisions offered at the tournament. Also present was Mike Bernardo and a delegation from Bernardo Karate, making the voyage from London. From Quebec, Pierre Saulnier’s Karate Sunfuki and representatives from Clermont Poulin’s Studio Unis were also in attendance. The tournament also received local support from Guy Ouellette’s Elite Martial Arts and John Laroda’s Pro Style Martial Arts.

On the first page of the tournament flyer, the listed start time was 10 a.m. SHARP. Despite the fact that several competitors were still in line at the registration table, the tournament definitely promised and delivered as they started each division at the prescribed time. The event began with all of the Youth Weapons and Forms divisions. Montreal’s Karate Sunfuki definitely made their presence known as they captured many of the 12 and Under Black Belt divisions. In the Boys division, Alex Cousineau garnered 1st Place victories in Forms and Musical Forms whereas Charles Dube reigned in the Weapons categories. On the Girls’ side, Eleni Vlachos took top honours in Musical Forms. Not to be outdone, however, was Studio Unis’ Laurence Brochu. Brochu exhibited her dexterity by wielding her bo to capture two 1st place finishes in the Weapons categories. The 13 – 17 divisions definitely boasted an abundance of talent. The Boys’ Forms category was the one to watch as each performance was a true display of power and intensity. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, NTKS’ Lawrence Collymore and Studio Unis’ Remy Cantin tied for 1st Place. The two young men were forced to a tie-breaking performance where each of them elected to perform a different routine. The second time around, it was Collymore who emerged victorious to claim top honours this year. Nevertheless, Cantin more than made up for it by claiming the victory in the Weapons division. Other notable victories include Sunfuki’s Jeremy Lussier winning the Musical Forms division with a Traditional form set to music and “Hot Chocolate” himself, Imran Jaffar, spinning and twirling the bo to win the Musical Weapons category.

It was definitely a family affair for the Ferguson Family as the mother-daughter team of Alison and Jordan displayed that perseverance and hard work runs in their family! The daughter, Jordan, claimed each of the 13 – 17 Girls’ Weapons divisions with her creative Bo display, defeating Chanel Emond of Team Impact on both occasions. But it was definitely “Mother’s Day” for Alison as she managed to claim a “Triple Crown” by winning each of her respective Forms, Weapons and Fighting divisions. No strangers to the tournament scene, the Aversa Brothers continued to dominate the Fighting divisions as Fortunato claimed the Middleweight division and Dominic winning the 35+ division. Just more examples of the cliche, “The family that kicks together sticks together”.

As the Junior divisions were winding down, it was time for the Adults to turn up the thermostat in the Travelodge ballroom. Once again, Karate Sunfuki continued to display their winning ways as Marie-Eve DeCaire claimed victories in Musical Weapons and Fighting and Tina LePage winning Weapons and Musical Forms. After a lengthy absence to the Sport Karate scene, Bernardo Karate’s Candace Thody made her return by capturing the Women’s Forms division and scoring an upset over a more seasoned Tina LePage. On the Men’s side, Adult rookie Eric Depatie of Karate Sunfuki had a good showing by winning the Men’s Lightweight Fighting division. Eric also threw his card into the Musical Forms division, losing to veteran competitor, Andrew Cabilan. However, the division that had people on their toes was the Men’s Traditional Forms division. Although it only had six competitors, the division fielded perhaps the most formidable Traditional competitors Canada has to offer! Along with Depatie and Cabilan, WKA World Champion Jonathan Milot and Cedric Ferland were also added to the mix. After all the performances were completed and scores added up, Cabilan, Milot and Ferland were all tied for 1st Place and each of them had to perform again. Ferland’s fluidity and Cabilan’s intensity were no match for Milot’s precision as Milot received the nod from the judges after this gruelling tie-breaker. However, Ferland got his revenge by handily capturing the Weapons division by edging both Cabilan and Milot. Honourable mention goes out to Jeff Muir, who after judging an entire ring the whole day, still managed to compete AND win each of his 35+ Forms and Weapons divisions. Hats off go to Jeff Muir for a job well done!

Equally intense and thrilling were the Fighting divisions. The Men’s Lightweight division was full of surprises. The ever dominant Dominic Aversa faced Dwain Blair in an exciting see-saw battle. When the buzzer sounded, it was Aversa who claimed the victory. However, the tables turned when Karate Sunfuki’s Eric Depatie faced Aversa in the final match as Depatie scored a surprising upset by edging Aversa 4 to 1. Any frustrations Aversa might have had from this loss definitely fuelled his fire as he claimed the 35+ division by defeating Jeff Muir. In the Middleweight division, Dominic’s brother, Fortunato defeated Jonathan Milot with a score of 9 to 3 to claim the division. Pro Style’s Mitchell Paul won the Heavyweight division.

The tournament ended off with all of the Black Belt Grand Championships. First up was the Women’s Fighting Grand Championship. Alison Ferguson, the 35+ winner, elected to bow out of the Grand so she could focus on the Forms Grand Championship. That left Marie-Eve DeCaire and Elyse Gorello to square off and battle for the $300. Gorello, armed with lightning speed hands, could not overcome the tenacity of DeCaire as DeCaire pulled off a narrow 9 to 7 victory over Gorello to win the title and the cash. On the Men’s side, Lightweight winner Eric Depatie, who defeated Dominic Aversa to claim the division, had to fight the OTHER Aversa – Fortunato. Fortunato’s experience definitely had the upper hand in this match up as he edged Depatie to move on to the next round of the Grand. Dominic Aversa faced Mitchell Paul in the next matchup. Despite Paul’s size and reach advantage, Aversa’s evasive tactics and speed were no match for Mitchell Paul. That set up a Brother vs. Brother match up for the Grand Finale. Even though the spectators had their eyes set on this match, Dominic bowed out to Fortunato as a sign of respect and Fortunato walked out with the $600 cold hard cash. Finally, the highly anticipated Adult Black Belt Forms division was the last to be run. With $600 on the line, James Heaton, Alison Ferguson, Marie-Eve DeCaire, Cedric Ferland and Jeff Muir all had their game face on. Even though each of them performed with spirit and intensity, Milot’s deep stances and clean technique received the nod of the judges, edging Ferland by .01 to win this year’s Forms Grand Championship.

The tournament ended early enough so that the competitors and their families could enjoy the sights of Ottawa – visit the Parliament buildings, go shopping at the Rideau Centre or cross over to Gatineau, Quebec to visit various museums – the options are endless. With the Canadian Nationals being held in the heart of Ottawa this year, the Douvris Classic set the stage to give us a preview of the talent that we will be witnessing in May. Southern Ontario competitors who do not regularly attend tournaments further north should really mark this one on their calendar next year. If the quality of competition is an indicator of the type of talent that will attend the Classic, this tournament will definitely serve and continue to be the Premiere event in the Ottawa region!