Three members of the Petrolia Bluewater Club are joining their Sarnia colleagues to compete at the Canadian Junior Championships this weekend in Quebec City.
Kaitlin Berdan, 13, and Emilee Berdan, 12, of Oil Springs; and Rachel Irvine, 11, of Petrolia; will join 13 other athletes from the Bluewater Taekwondo Club in Sarnia at the nationals.
"The three of them all work hard five days a week, sometimes six," Master Mark Warburton said of the trio, noting they train at both Bluewater locations on alternate days.
Emilee Berdan will compete in the colour belt competition as a red belt/black stripe. "Emilee is very physically gifted and technically sound. It's been a long road for her to break out of her shell and develop confidence over the last year, but I'd say at the start of this year she broke through," said Warburton. "Now that she's got the drive and hunger to go with her abilities, she has been very dominant lately."
Her older sister Kaitlin will compete in the Poom B featherweight division (46 to 50 kilograms/ 101.2 to 110 pounds). Warburton said Kaitlin has grown quite rapidly into a serious contender over the last year.
"She's a really tough kid, but it took a while for her to fix a lot of bad habits instilled in her before she started succeeding. Now, she has gone from being a 'tough kid' to being 'a tough kid to beat,' which are definitely not the same thing in this sport."
Kaitlin, with two bronze medals and one gold medal from three provincial selection events, finished overall in second place for her weight division.
But Warburton considers her the top bet in the division from all the Ontario girls. "She fought in a different weight division at the first selection, and the girl ranked ahead of her had a gold medal by default. Kaitlin destroyed this girl at the second selection in less than two minutes, so the ranking points system really doesn't have any relevance on who is the best all the time."
Warburton adds "I am confident Kaitlin can win as long as she believes in herself and gives her all."
Irvine, who finished with a first place ranking in the Poom C welterweight division (becoming Ontario champion) will compete in the Poom C middleweight division (48 to 52 kilograms / 105.6 to 114.4 pounds) at the nationals.
"She's moved up two weight divisions, but she's just at the bottom of this one," said Warburton, who doesn't allow younger athletes to drop more than one kilogram to make weight. "It's too unhealthy for them. Older teenagers and adults know how to cut a bit more weight more safely, but these kids are still growing," he said. "Plus, I believe they can beat anybody -- or else I wouldn't put them in there. So I'm not concerned with having them be at really low weights."
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Irvine is growing really fast and has learned to use her reach and distance well, said Warburton. "If you get into her leg range, you're getting hit, and hit hard."
Warburton said he has no doubt Irvine has the potential to not only win this year's junior nationals but also become a top contender in Canada in the future.
"She really listens well and even though she has been successful, it doesn't get to her head at all. She still continues to work hard," said Warburton. "If she still has the same work ethic and positive attitude in a number of years, I can definitely see her on the Canadian national team."
The team departed for Quebec City today and returns on May 19. Warburton, himself a provincial champion and international competitor, skipped out on this year's senior nationals to focus on developing the junior athletes.
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