Montreal, February 5, 2019—Judo Canada is proud to announce that one of its major partners, TKNL Experience Makers, is one of the finalists of the CTSA Canadian Sport Event Sponsorship Initiative of the Year Award at the PRESTIGE Awards with the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance for its work during the Canada Cup in June 2018.

It is a fact that the Canada Cup couldn’t have been such a success without TKNL Experience Makers. They were involved in the logistics and technical support aspects of the event, mostly with everything audiovisual: animation, lighting, display, screen management, etc. Their goal is to present judo at its best and make it a good show for the spectators.

More than a business relationship, the relationship between Judo Canada and TKNL Experience Makers is about family and passion. TKNL’s main contact with Judo Canada, Marc Poirier, got into judo around 10 years ago, when his own kids started training on the mats. He first got involved in regional and provincial events before trying with national and international tournaments. His passion for judo even rubbed off his colleagues at work: they are planning to build a dojo in their office space during a future expansion so that they can practise different martial arts during their lunch break.

Photo Rafal Burza

“When my kids started training, the club offered ‘parents-children’ activities, and that’s when I fell in love with the sport. I started as a white belt when I was 47 years old. With my job at TKNL, I have the chance to combine my two passions—event planning and judo. It’s my contribution to my sport,” he explained. “Today, we have a great relationship with Judo Canada, and they’re always a pleasure to work with. It’s a wonderful mark of confidence on their part to ask our help with the events, but in the end, we’re all together in this and we have a common goal, to set up a good event to showcase judo.”

“We are extremely proud of our nomination at the PRESTIGE Awards. Our goal is not to get these awards, but it’s heartwarming and it’s a beautiful recognition, both from Judo Canada, who sent in our nomination, and the industry, who decided to accept it. It’s a proof we’re going in the right direction, and that our work is appreciated.” In addition to the Canada Cup, TKNL is involved in the organization of several judo tournaments at all levels, namely the Montreal Grand Prix held in July at the Maurice Richard Arena.

The awards presentation and the announcement of the winners will be in Ottawa on March 20^th. Click here for more information on the PRESTIGE Awards and the list of all finalists.

About the PRESTIGE Awards

PRESTIGE Awards are the CSTA’s marquis Program Recognizing Exceptional Sport Tourism Initiatives, Games & Events. Now in its 13^th year, this annual award program shines a spotlight on the dynamic Canadians, places and events that are building our nation’s growing sport tourism industry.

The CTSA Canadian Sport Event Sponsorship Initiative of the Year recognizes the best use of a partnership between a company, organization, agency or individual that contributed to the overall success of a national or international sport event held in Canada in 2018.

-30-

Written by Sarah Mailhot for Judo Canada

Information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org