Emily Lambert hopes the third time will be the charm.
The 16-year-old Airdrie resident leaves for Montreal on March 16 for her third consecutive appearance at the Karate Canada National Championships, and she hopes to improve on third-place finishes at her previous two nationals.
The 2011 edition, where Lambert will compete in the individual class as well as the three-on-three provincial team competition, is set to take place from March 18-20 in the Montreal suburb of St. Hyacinthe, Que.
“I’ve gotten bronze two years in a row now, so this year I hope I’ll get gold,” said Lambert, who trains out of the Airdrie Japanese Karate Association. “The first time I was there, it was lots of people cheering and I was really nervous, but now I know how to cope with all of that. I’d say it’s about 80 per cent mental preparation.”
“She’s got the mind-set for it,” said her father Gary. “She missed out just barely last year and she wants to do it this year.”
Lambert has been doing karate since she was 10, but this year will mark the move to the higher 16 to 17-year old age bracket.
“I don’t think age really matters, as long as I’m prepared, which I am, so I know I can do it,” she said.
“It will be her first year in that division, but she has the experience behind her now,” Gary said. “She’ll compete against girls in her weight class when she fights individually. Then when they fight as a team, it’s an open weight class for the age group.”
Emily ramped up her training schedule during the past year as well and so she said her confidence has improved because of it.
“I train five times a week now and I’ve just worked on my technique a lot since last year,” she said.
“She kept on training throughout the year, then the specific training started in the first part of January,” Gary said.
When she gets to Montreal, she’ll head directly to a training session and then help cheer on her teammates beginning the next morning. Seeing the city won’t be much of an option.
“There’s not a whole lot of time to look around, but that’s alright, as I’m looking forward to competing,” Lambert said. “Being competitive takes the fun up about 10 notches.”
