Quebec karate tournament nixed after provincial lawyers realize it's against law

As head instructor at the Centre d'Excellence en Karaté du Québec, François Persico isn't the type to get caught off guard, but the abrupt cancellation of a major martial arts competition this weekend came as quite the sucker punch.

"It hit us, really by surprise," said Persico.

Karaté Québec announced Thursday that the Quebec Cup was postponed due to "confusion in the interpretation and application of the Criminal Code'' that makes karate competitions illegal without a provincial decree.

The weekend competition in Montreal was to be used as a selection event for the Canada Games.

However, the sport no longer has an exemption under the Code since karate is not on the Olympic program for the 2024 Paris Games, Karaté Québec said in a release Thursday.

While practising the sport is legal, the removal of the Olympic exemption and lack of a decree means a competition could expose organizers, stakeholders and athletes involved in so-called prizefights to the risk of punishable offences, the association said.

Frustrated athletes, coaches

"The impact is huge," said Persico, who is headed to Turkey next week to accompany the national team to the junior world championships.

Normally, the Quebec event would help prepare athletes for the international competition.

Persico has a tournament coming at his own centre, and that too could be pushed back, but he's confident that the province, working closely with Karaté Québec, will find a solution soon.

Karaté Québec president Stéphane Rivest remains hopeful as well. He said his organization has been working with the government's lawyers since they first reached out about the issue on Sept. 30.

But progress has been slower than expected, given the recent provincial election and upcoming ministerial appointments, the organization says.

"Our athletes are frustrated and our members and coaches are frustrated about the situation," Rivest said.

The Ministry of Education's leisure and sports safety department is working with the organization to find "various possible solutions," said government spokesperson Bryan St-Louis in an email Thursday.

Negotiations continue, athletes train

Meanwhile, Rivest said the sport is still a member of the Olympic movement and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and is included in major multi-sport events outside of the Summer Games.

The national federation and the COC have reached out to offer support, he said.

The 16- and 17-year-old age categories at the postponed event were to be used as a qualifier for the Canada Games next year. Rivest said the sport is essentially non-contact at the junior level, with only a "skin touch" allowed.

"So that's when we come into the prizefighting issue. It's like, 'Really?'"

Light contact is tolerated for adult competitors at events like the Quebec Cup. Excessive contact is penalized.

Regardless of the postponed event, Persico said he's not giving up and neither are his young athletes.

"We're fighters. We are karatekas," he said. "So we just keep going and we wait for the next fight. That's all we do."