Taekwondo Canada – Taekwondo Canada is pleased to announce the world’s top taekwondo junior athletes will be competing in Burnaby, British Columbia from November 16-20, 2016. 

The world’s top martial arts sport (and an Olympic sport since 2000) is bringing international competition to Burnaby. The World Taekwondo Federation awarded Burnaby, Canada the right to host the 2016 championships at its extraordinary council meeting held in December in Mexico City. 

The World Taekwondo Junior Championships will be hosted at Bill Copeland Sports Centre in Burnaby, and is an exciting showcase of the sport’s future, with athletes between the ages of 14 and 17 participating. 

Organizers anticipate over 800 athletes from 100+ countries will compete for top honours, across ten different divisions, with both male and females competing. The event is expected to generate a $4 million economic impact in Burnaby and throughout the province. 

Taekwondo Canada’s president, Wayne Mitchell, sees some excellent opportunities for showcasing and growing the sport in Canada. “Bringing the best of the world to our country gives us a platform to build awareness of our sport in Canada, and grow it.” He went on to say, “We are very thankful to the World Taekwondo Federation for this opportunity. We intend to seize it and raise the bar on event execution and build a long lasting legacy for the sport in Canada.” 

City of Burnaby Mayor, Derek Corrigan, is thrilled that this event is coming to Burnaby: “Taekwondo is a sport that garners international interest,” says Mayor Corrigan, “and Burnaby is well-positioned to ensure that the thousands of people locally and worldwide who follow and participate in the sport will see the 2016 World Taekwondo Junior Championships featured here to their best advantage. Our city is a hotbed of sporting excellence. We have hosted many national and international sporting events, including the World Police and Fire Games, the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, Rugby Canada’s Pacific Nations Cup, and the Pat Quinn Hockey Classic. We have experience, a top-notch venue, the support of the local taekwondo community and the enthusiasm of our citizens – everything we need to produce a first-class competition.”

Event organizers are excited to develop a milestone event that promotes the sport of taekwondo in Canada and introduces it to new audiences, as well as strengthens the junior programs in the community. Competition details and schedules will be released in the coming months. 

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MEDIA CONTACT: 
Nancy Small 
Marketing Lead, Burnaby Organizing Committee 
Executive Director, Tourism Burnaby 
604-828-5536 (cell phone) 
604-419-0377 (office phone) 
nsmall@tourismburnaby.com 

CITY OF BURNABY 

British Columbia’s 3rd largest city, Burnaby is at the geographic centre of Metro Vancouver. With a multicultural and growing population, and a history of sporting excellence, the city is ready to host the international taekwondo community in November 2016. www.burnaby.ca 

TOURISM BURNABY 

Tourism Burnaby is the city’s local Destination Management Organization. It works with local tourism businesses to drive visitors to the city. Sport Burnaby is the dedicated sport hosting arm of Tourism Burnaby that partners with local, provincial, national and international sport organizations to ensure their Burnaby-based sport events are an overwhelming success. Designed as a comprehensive ‘one-stop-shop’, Sport Burnaby provides organizations with local expertise and connect them directly with key community and industry stakeholders. www.tourismburnaby.com 

ABOUT TAEKWONDO CANADA 

Taekwondo Canada is the national Sport Federation in Canada recognized by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU), Sport Canada and Canadian Olympic Committee. Together with its membership and partners, Taekwondo Canada leads the pursuit of honouring tradition, enabling excellence and building champions. www.taekwondo-canada.com