A local martial artist has proven he’s one of the best in the world after bringing home several gold medals from an international tournament in Italy last month.
Nigel Harrison, who holds a taekwondo second-degree black belt, was one of 12 team members from the Edmonton-area Phoenix Taekwon-do club to compete in the June 25 to 28 Open World Taekwon-Do Championships in Rimini, Italy.
The St. Albert resident brought home the heaviest hardware of the group, winning gold in the Men’s Veteran (over 36) Pattern and the Men’s 80 kg Veteran Sparring events.
More than 300 black-belt athletes from 15 countries participated in the tournament.
Some young local amateur athletes are diving into the competition this weekend at the four-day Alberta Age Group and Senior Championships in Edmonton.
The Olympian Swim Club, which has swimmers based out of pools all around the greater Edmonton area including St. Albert’s Fountain Park Pool, is hosting the event.
Club supporter Karen Middleton said there are about a dozen St. Albert swimmers involved, ranging from around 10 to 18 years old, and they’re ready to face the competition.
“There are some national-level swimmers from St. Albert that are swimming,” she said.
The action continues all weekend at the Kinsmen Sports Centre at the bottom of Walterdale Hill in Edmonton.
The route for this year’s Tour d’Alberta has been finalized, and it will include a new stop at CFB Edmonton on Aug. 9.
Now in its 21st year, the annual non-competitive bike tour takes riders through francophone communities with Sturgeon and Westlock counties with several possible routes, including a family-friendly 15 km loop, as well as loops that are 50 km, 100 km or 160 km for the more seasoned participants.
Many of the rest stops will stay the same, but participants on the longest route will now have a rest stop at the military base in Namao.
The start and finish lines will be the Morinville Community Cultural Centre. Start times will vary depending on the distance riders want to cover, with an 8 a.m. start for the 160-km route.
Registration forms and route maps are available at www.tourdalberta.ca.
St. Albert Minor Hockey Association product Tyler Bunz is now an unrestricted free agent after the Edmonton Oilers cut him loose.
The 23-year-old goaltender was selected in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL draft. He was signed to a three-year contract in 2012, playing for several teams in the ECHL and American Hockey League during that time.
He sustained a life-threatening injury after getting hit in the throat with a puck in 2014, but was able to make a full recovery.
He played one period with the Oilers in the 2014-2015 season, with limited success.
