Stephenville to Host Black Belt Championships

Kevin Aylward, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, and MHA - St. George's - Stephenville East today announced that Stephenville will host the 2002 Canadian National Senior Black Belt Tae Kwon Do Championships. 

"This past weekend, masters Wayne Simon and Leon Benoit of the Stephenville Tae Kwon Do Club led a high-performance and well organized team to a successful bid for this national sporting event," Aylward said. "They represented Stephenville and the province as true ambassadors of good will."

The championships will take place from May 31 to June 2, 2002. There will be a one week training session in Stephenville prior to the championships. Olympic bronze medalist Dominique Bossait, world gold medalist Roxanne Forget and world bronze medalist Raymond Mourard are expected to take part in both the training sessions and the competitions.

"This event will have upwards to 400 athletes attending," Aylward continued. "In addition, there will be 50 coaches and trainers as well as friends, family and fans, making the estimated total of people to attend this event to about 600. This will bring a great economic boost to Stephenville and the surrounding area and is expected to bring in revenue of approximately $600,000. I extend my congratulations to all those responsible for bringing this bid home to Stephenville."

Media contact: Catherina Kennedy, Communications, (709) 729-0928.

2001 06 20                                                         2:55 p.m.