Recently the Washington Karate Assication/Lakewood Dojo competed in Hungary at the Hayashi-ha Shito-ryu World Championship. Congratulation to the following competitors in their outstanding performance:

Justin Atteshis:
Male open kata from 4.kyu (14-15 yrs) - Gold
Male open kumite from 4.kyu -55kg (14-15 yrs) - Bronze

Stefani Castile:
Female open kumite from 4.kyu -50kg (16-17 yrs) - Silver

Janice Mallorca:
Female open kumite from 4.kyu -53 kg (18-34 yrs) - Silver
Female shito-ryu kumite from 4.kyu -53kg (18-34 yrs) - Bronze

Cody Mao:
Male open kata 4.kyu (10-11 yrs) - Silver
Male open kumite from 4.kyu -40kg (10-11 yrs) - Bronze

Mimi Mao:
Female open kata from 4.kyu (16-17 years) - Silver
Female open kumite from 4.kyu -50kg (16-17 yrs) - Bronze

Justin Oba:
Male open kumite from 4.kyu +70kg (16-17 yrs) - Silver

Kendra Sweigart:
Female open kumite from 4.kyu -60kg (18-34 yrs) - Bronze
Female shito-ryu from 4.kyu -60kg (18-34 yrs) - Silver

Kaitlyn Van Manen:
Female open kumite from 4.kyu +35kg (10-11 yrs) - Bronze

Tacoma, Washington – The Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission and the Washington Dragon Boat Association are proud to announce the 2008  Rainier Dragon Boat Festival, which will be held on Saturday, May 17th on the Thea Foss Waterway in Tacoma.

One of the teams competing at the festival is Blind Ambition, a dragon boat team comprised of visually impaired athletes from Portland, Oregon. Blind Ambition is the first blind competitive dragon boat team to compete equally with other dragon boat teams in the country. They come from all walks of life. Some of them are teachers, doctors, councilors, housewives, students and massage therapists. The two things they all have in common are they are blind and they love paddling!

The Rainier Dragon Boat Festival will host 30 teams from all over the west coast. The race will be the first stop on the Pacific Dragon Boat Association regional series schedule. The race course is 500 meters in length.

The standard dragon boat crew is 22 people, comprising of 20 paddlers in pairs facing toward the bow of the boat, 1 drummer or caller at the bow facing toward the paddlers, and one steers person or tiller (helm) at the rear of the boat. A decorative dragon head and tail are added to the bow and stern during competitive races. 

This event is one of the premier competitive dragon boat events in the Pacific Northwest. The race is sanctioned by the Pacific Dragon Boat Association, one of three regional affiliates of the United States Dragon Boat Federation, which is a member of the International Dragon Boat Federation.

Races begin at 8:30AM. For directions to the venue visit www.washingtondragonboat.com.

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The Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission recently attended that National Association of Sports Commission’s (NASC) Annual Symposium in Omaha, Nebraska. We were honored to be the opening ceremonies sponsor for the Symposium. Tim Waer, the Executive Director of the Sports Commission, presented the open with some remarks about Tacoma-Pierce County. Specifically, Tim highlighted the Tacoma Dome and Chambers Bay during the speech. During the slide show there were many oohs and ahhs at the beauty of our region.

As a part of the opening ceremonies sponsorship, we were given a booth at the NASC Symposium Market Place. We decided to share the booth with our fellow Washington State Sports Commissions. This was an exciting chance to get to know our colleagues from around the state. Sports Commission’s represented at our booth were: Yakima Valley Sports Commission, Wenatchee Valley Sports Council, Seattle Sports Commission, Spokane Regional Sports Commission, and the Snohomish County Sports Commission.

Tim Waer and Jon Graef at the Washington Booth at the 2008 NASC Symposium in Omaha, Nebraska

During the NASC Marketplace, each Sports Commission has the opportunity to meet and network with a plethora of National Governing Bodies from around the country. We had meetings with USA Rugby, USA Volleyball, USA Taekwondo, GVA Dragon Boats and the Western Police and Fire Games. During the meeting we discussed the possibility of hosting an event in Tacoma-Pierce County for each respective discipline.

Overall, the NASC Symposium in Omaha was a success for our organization. We made quite an impression on the conference. We certainly look forward to the 2009 Conference in Denver, Colorado.

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Don’t miss your chance to learn the newest Olympic sport. These BMX clinics will teach the fundamentals of racing while Building confidence and teaching kids about setting and reaching Goals. Each rider must bring their bike, helmet, long sleeve shirt and long pants. Riders will receive a one year membership to the American Bicycle Association, Special T-Shirt and a free race.

For: Boys and girls of all ages
Clinics: May 17, 24th and 31st June 7, 14th, July 12 and Aug 2nd
Time: 12:00-4:00 pm
Fee: $45/clinic
Register: River Valley BMX - 253-732-6890
7800 Riverside Dr. E. Sumner, WA 98360
www.RiverValleyBMXRacing.com
Registration Deadline 30 minutes before clinic