The news took Jordan Boudreau by complete surprise. In a good way.
Boudreau, a 39-year-old Prince George resident, will represent Canada at the International Taekwon-Do Federation Pan American Championships, June 18-19 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His unexpected invitation arrived in electronic form last week.
"To get that email was pretty awesome," said Boudreau, a fifth-degree black belt. "Although it was out of the blue, with not a lot of time to get ready for it, luckily we just got back from westerns so I'm already in competition mode. It's not going to be hard to get the engine going again and get ready for this event."
At the Western Canadian championships, May 13-14 in Regina, Boudreau was golden in both hyperweight men's sparring (186 pounds and heavier) and power breaking. He'll be one of five Canadian men at the Pan American tournament, and the only one from B.C.
In Buenos Aires, he'll compete in individual and team sparring. His goal is to perform as well as he can and let the results take care of themselves.
"I always go in there with a positive attitude," said Boudreau, head instructor at Family Taekwon-Do in Prince George. "One of our beliefs at our school is, we don't ever try, we always do our best. All I can say is I'm going to go down there and do my best and leave everything in the ring. If it's a win, it's a win. If it's a loss, I know what I've got to improve on."
When it comes to international competition, Boudreau is no rookie. He competed at the Pan American championships in 2003 when they were held in Ottawa and, the next year, was in Korea for the ITF world championships.
After the 2004 worlds, Boudreau decided to shift his attention to coaching. In that capacity, he took a group of athletes to the 2006 world junior championships in Australia. His experience there made him realize he wasn't ready to halt his own competitive career so he refocused himself again.
For Boudreau, the current Pan American opportunity will help ease a lingering disappointment from the 2015 season.
Last year, Boudreau claimed national titles in sparring and power breaking and was selected to Team Canada for the world championships in Italy. He and his wife, Stacey, both made the journey but, after just a few days overseas, had to return because of a medical emergency involving their son, Mason. The nine-year-old had been in a bicycle accident and his condition was uncertain.
"We got a phone call at about three o'clock in the morning in Italy," said Boudreau, adding that a neurosurgeon at B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver was advising them to cut their trip short.
"(It was) total panic mode," Boudreau said. "We spent three days in Europe and came home. So unfortunately my goal to get to the world championships again was fulfilled but I didn't get to compete at it. So getting another international experience is hopefully going to make up for having to come home and miss that tournament."
Mason ended up being "totally fine," Boudreau said.
Boudreau already has a good idea of what to expect when he arrives in Buenos Aires.
"Super-talented athletes are going to be at this event," he said. "The team competition is great because you might get a middleweight having to spar a hyperweight and you never know what can happen. It's always exciting when you can see that little guy score some points on a big giant."
