High performance athletes

Nicole Poirier

During her competitive career, Nicole was a steadfast athlete with a strong warrior’s spirit. She was Karaté Cama’s first athlete to compete in the Canadian Championships in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1989. She had a lot of success in the national and international circuit:

• She took home 20 medals at the Canadian Championships, including 11 medals with Karaté Cama and 9 medals with the British Columbia team;
• She won the bronze medal in team kumite at the North American Cup held in Canada in 1992;
• At the Pan-American Championships held in the United States in 1994, Nicole won 2 medals, including 1 gold in open kumite and 1 silver for kumite -62 kg;
• At the Pan-American Games held in Argentina in 1995, she won a gold medal in the -60 kg category;
• She finished 5^th in team kumite at the World Championships held in Spain in 1992;
• She took home the silver medal in individual kumite at the ITKF Championships held in Canada in 1992 and competed in the World ITKF Championships in Peru; 
• She came in 5^th in the -60 kg category at the World Cup in Algeria;
• She competed in the World Championships in Malaysia in 1994.

Nicole received 2 awards during the National Karate Association’s Annual Awards Banquets:

1992: Senior Female Athlete of the Year
1994: Senior Female Athlete of the Year

Her leadership earned her the position of team captain for the Québec and Canada teams.

Nicole lives in British Columbia where she serves as a volunteer coach.

Roch Laflamme

During his competitive career, Roch was well-liked by everyone and was very successful in the following events:

• In 10 appearances at the Canadian Championships, Roch won 24 medals, including 12 gold, 8 silver and 4 bronze;
• At the Pan-American Championships, Roch won 3 medals, including 1 silver and 2 bronze; 
• At the World Championships of Francophone Cities in Luxemburg, he took home the silver medal in team kumite alongside teammates Stéphane Dubuc and Billyron Mallon;
• At the World Chito-Ryu Championships (the Soke Cup) in 1998, he won the gold medal in dojo team kumite alongside teammates Stéphane Dubuc, Marc Gauthier, Germain Bisson, Jean Quevillon and Steeven Cryans and the silver medal in national team kumite;
• At the World Championships in South Africa in 1996, he finished 5^th in kumite -75kg;
• At the World Championships in Brazil in 1998, he finished 5^th in open kumite.

Roch has received 4 awards during the National Karate Association’s Annual Awards Banquets:
 
1996/1997:     Senior Male Athlete of the Year (Best Performance of the Year)
1998:              Senior Male Athlete of the Year
2000:              Senior Male Athlete of the Year
2005:              Senior Male Athlete of the Year

Thanks to his leadership, Roch was team captain for the Québec and Canada teams on several occasions.

Roch is currently a volunteer coach with Team Cama. He is currently associate coach with Team Québec.

Btissama Essadiqi

During her competitive career, Btissama was a leading athlete on the national and international circuits where she won many medals, including:

• In 11 participations at the Canadian Championships, Btissama won 34 medals, including 21 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze;
• At the Pan-American Championships, she won 10 medals, including 2 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze;
• Btissama represented Canada at the Pan-American Games in Winnipeg in 1999 where she won the bronze medal. In 2003, she represented Canada in the Dominican Republic and won the silver medal;
• In 3 participations at the Paris Open, she won 1 gold and 2 bronze medals. She won a silver medal at the Holland Open and at the Commonwealth Championships;
• At the World Championships in Germany in 2000, Btissama finished 5^th in team kumite;
• At the World Championships in Spain in 2002, she finished 5^th in individual kumite -53kg.

Btissama was presented with 9 awards at the National Karate Association’s Annual Awards Banquets:

1996:              Aktugawa Cup (sport-study trophy)
1998/1999:     Senior Female Athlete of the Year (Best Performance of the Year)
1998:              Senior Female Athlete of the Year
1999/2000:     Senior Female Athlete of the Year (Best Performance of the Year)
1999:              Best Sportsmanship
2000:              Senior Female Athlete of the Year
2001:              Senior Female Athlete of the Year
2001:              Aktugawa Cup (sport-study trophy)
2002:              Senior Female Athlete of the Year

Thanks to her leadership, Btissama was team captain for the Québec and Canada teams on a number of occasions.

She is currently a volunteer coach with Team Cama. She is currently associate coach with Team Québec.

Steeven Cryans

Steeven was a member of Team Québec between 1996 and 2007. He is now retired. His accomplishments include:

• In 11 participations at the Canadian Championships, Steeven took home 18 medals, including 7 gold, 8 silver and 3 bronze;
• At the Senior Pan-American Championships held in Mexico in 2007, Steeven came in 5^th in the -60 kg category;
• He took part in the Senior World Championships held in Spain in 2002;
• He won a gold medal in team kata at the Commonwealth Championships in England in 2003;
• At the World Chito-Ryu Championships (the Soke Cup), he won the silver medal in national team kumite and a gold medal in dojo team kumite.

Steeven is presently yondan, Jun-Shidoin and instructor at Karaté Cama.
He is also a volunteer coach with Team Cama.

Éric Rollin

Éric, who is now retired, was a member of Team Québec from 2002 to 2006. His outstanding performances include:

• In 5 participations at the Canadian Championships, Eric bagged 11 medals, including 6 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze;
• He won a bronze medal in team kumite at the Senior Pan-American Championships held in Argentina in 2005;
• He won a silver medal in team kata at the Commonwealth Championships held in England in 2003;
• He took home a bronze medal in individual kumite when he competed at the Arnold Classic.

Éric is now a nidan and assistant instructor at Karaté Cama.
He is also a volunteer coach with Team Cama.

Steve Larose

Steve retired from competition after nine years with Team Québec. His accomplishments include:

• In 9 participations at the Canadian Championships, Steve took home 12 medals, including 6 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze;
• He won a silver medal in team kata at the Commonwealth Championships held in England in 2003;
• He won a silver medal in individual kata at the Arnold Classic;
• He took home a gold medal in team kata at the World Chito-Ryu Championships (the Soke Cup).

Steve is now a nidan.

Xavier Fournier

Xavier was one of the leading Canadian athletes and had a lot of success during his career:

• In 10 participations at the Canadian Championships, Xavier took home 22 medals, including 16 gold and 6 silver;
• At the Junior Pan-American Championships, Xavier bagged 7 medals, including 1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze;
• At the World Junior Championships held in Cyprus, he came in 5^th in the -80 kg category;
• He won silver medals at the North American Cup in 2007 and 2008;
• He took home a bronze medal in 2000 and a gold medal in 2002 at the Championnat Sud de France;
• He won a bronze medal in team kumite at the Senior Pan-American Championships held in Argentina in 2005;
• He competed at the Senior World Championships held in Mexico in 2004, Finland in 2006 and Japan in 2008;
• He won a bronze medal at the Simon Bolivar Cup in 2005;
• He won a bronze medal in team kumite and finished 5^th in the open category at the US Open in 2007;
• He won a gold medal in individual kumite at the World Chito-Ryu Championships (the Soke Cup) held in 1998.

Xavier was honoured as Junior Male Athlete of the Year at the 2002 National Karate Association’s Annual Awards Banquet.

Louis-Philippe L’Ecuyer-Lafleur

Louis-Philippe is currently one of the leading national athletes who has had a very successful career that includes:

• In 12 participations at the Canadian Championships, he took home 23 medals, including 8 gold, 8 silver and 7 bronze;
• At the Junior Pan-American Championships held in Vancouver in 2003, he won the gold medal in team kumite;
• He bagged bronze medals at the 2007 and 2008 North American Cup;
• He took part in the Pan-American Senior Championships in Argentina in 2005 and won a bronze medal in team kumite, a bronze medal in the -65 kg category in Mexico in 2007, a bronze medal in team kumite in Venezuela in 2008 and a bronze in team kumite in Curaçao in 2009;
• He competed at the World Senior Championships held in Finland in 2006;
• He finished 7^th in the -65 kg category at the World Senior Championships held in Japan in 2008;
• He won a silver medal in the -65 kg category at the Simon Bolivar Cup in 2005;
• He won a bronze medal in team kumite in the 2007 US Open and a silver medal in the -65 kg category in 2008;
• He won a gold medal in individual kumite at the World Chito-Ryu Championships (the Soke Cup) held in 1998.

Thanks to his leadership, Louis-Philippe was captain of Team Québec in 2007, 2008 and 2009. He is currently associate coach with Team Québec.

Maude L’Ecuyer-Lafleur

Maude is currently one of the top athletes nationally. She has had a very successful career and has competed at the following events:

• In 10 participations at the Canadian Championships, Maude won 27 medals, including 9 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze;
• At the Junior Pan-American Championships, she won a bronze medal in individual kumite in Chile in 2004, a silver medal in Uruguay in 2005 and a team gold medal in Curaçao in 2006;
• She took home a gold medal at the North American Cup in 2008;
• At the Senior Pan-American Championships, she won a silver medal in the -60 kg category in Venezuela and finished 5^th in team kumite and 7^th in open kumite;
• She bagged the bronze medal in team kumite at the Simon Bolivar Cup in 2005;
• She finished 7^th in open kumite at the Paris Open in 2008;
• She won the bronze medal in individual kumite at the Championnat Sud de France in 2002;
• She participated in the Senior World Championships held in Japan in 2008.

Thanks to her leadership, Maude was captain of Team Québec in 2007 and 2009.

Sébastien Larose

Sébastien is a young athlete who has been very successful nationally. Highlights include:

• In 6 participations in the Canadian Championships, Sébastien has won 23 medals, including 16 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze;
• At the Junior Pan-American Championships, he came in 5^th in individual kumite in Vancouver in 2003 and in Chile in 2004, won a bronze medal in Uruguay in 2005 and finished 5^th in team kumite in Ecuador in 2007;
• He finished 7^th in -60 kg at the Senior Pan-American Championships in Venezuela in 2008;
• He took home the gold medal in kata at the Italian Open in 2006;
• He won a gold medal in kata in the 2006 US open and a bronze medal in team kumite in 2007;
• He competed at the Senior World Championships held in Japan in 2008 and finished 9^th;
• He took home the gold medal at the 2009 North American Cup.

Sébastien was named the Junior Male Athlete of the Year at the National Karate Association’s Annual Awards Banquets in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

He also won the award for Best Junior Sportsmanship in 2005.