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Local karate athlete wins first at nationals

Three generations of the Vilcu family travelled to Gatineau, Que., to take part in the Canadian Nationals for the World Karate Commission over the weekend, and the youngest member, Jocelyn Vilcu, came away with a first-place finish.
Vilcus at nationals

Three generations of the Vilcu family travelled to Gatineau, Que., to take part in the Canadian Nationals for the World Karate Commission over the weekend, and the youngest member, Jocelyn Vilcu, came away with a first-place finish.

She competed along with her father Isaac, and her grandfather Harold, who was their coach for the competition.

Jocelyn competed in the 15-17 year old category for under 60 kg, and won first place in continuous sparring.

Isaac competed in the veterans category for those 42 years and up in the 85-plus kg category, and he placed seventh in two competitions, points sparring and traditional kata.

The competition was a qualifier for the world championships, and the top four in each category are eligible to go. While Jocelyn is eligible to advance, Isaac said they decided not to go this time but to concentrate instead on training more.

“It’s a whole high level of competition,” said Isaac. “We were competing against not only Canada’s best, but some of the world’s best karate experts.”

He noted some of his competitors are highly ranked by the North American Sport Karate association, and the National Black Belt League, in addition to the World Karate Commission, so while he didn’t place in the top four of his two competitions, he is happy that he was able to place seventh against these athletes.