Blackbird Qualifies For Pan-Am Games

PCT (Petrolia/Cobra’s Team) recently competed at the Canada Open at Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. The Canada Open was sanctioned by The World Taekwondo Federation (W.T.F.) and the Ontario Taekwondo Association (O.T.A.) and hosted by Taekwondo Canada (TC).

Jewelian Blackbird (14) who trains with Coach Ryan Formosa at Cobra’s Taekwondo Training Centre in Chatham, competed in the black belt cadet (12-14 years old) heavy weight division. She finished the tournament with a 3-2 record. Her first match was against a player from the USA which ended in an 8-8 tie and Jewelian was victorious in sudden death overtime. Match 2 she went up against another USA player who won gold at this year’s US Open. Blackbird lost this match 9-1. She bounced back in match 3 defeating a player from Canada 13-0.
Her next match was against the first USA girl she competed against. Blackbird had a better performance this time around and won with a score of 9-5.

The semi-finals would be her last match of the day as she lost to a player from the USA that placed silver at this year’s US Open by a score of 8-6. Jewelian finished in 3rd place placing ahead of the other Canadian players in the division securing a spot on the Cadet Canadian National Team. She will be representing Canada at the 2013 Junior Pan-Am Championships being held in Mexico in the fall.

Also, Keegan Kovar (7) competed in the under 10 year’s old blue belt division winning silver. Brandon Benoit (10) won bronze in the youth (11-12 year’s old) yellow belt division. Both boys also train with Coach Ryan Formosa at Cobra’s Taekwondo Training Centre in Chatham.

Cobra’s Taekwondo Training Centre and Jewelian Blackbird are seeking both personal and business sponsorships to aid in the expenses of competing at the Junior Pan-Am Championships.