Florida Karate Academy student Gunnar Flinchum 13 and 31 other athletes on the National Karate Federation/ United States team flew to Santiago, Chile for the 2008 Pan Am Karate Games September 1 st through Tuesday, September 9 th. The National Karate Federation is the National Governing Body for the sport of Karate in the USA. NKF develops and gets Junior and Adult athletes to international events and competitions representing the United States of America. This was the first year 12-13 year olds were able to compete at the Pan Am Games. Traveling with the young athletes were Hideharu Igaki, Head Coach for the USA team, 4 assistant coaches, John Limcaco, Bob Allen, Akira Fukuda and Eric Hill and some of the parents of the younger athletes.

The NKF/USA team arrived in Santiago on Monday, September 1 st and stayed at the Radisson Santiago during their stay. No time was lost for the team; they went to training on the same day at a small gym a few blocks away from the hotel. Training continued Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with the competition starting on the Friday of that week. Gunnar said, "My favorite part of the trip was being with and training with the team".

Parents of the athletes were able to fit in a little sight-seeing while the athletes trained for the big competition. Abby Flinchum, Gunnar's mother said, "Since we were not allowed in with the athletes for their first few days of training, some of the parents were able to go on a very enjoyable tour of a vineyard while we were in Santiago, Chile."

Friday, September 5 th was the first day of the competition. The competition was very tough and Gunnar lost to Venezuela in the first round. Gunnar said, "I was disappointed in my performance in the fight. I know I can do better than I did." Although disappointed Gunnar received some very good experience on the international stage and hopes to prove himself in later competitions. Abby Flinchum said, "We are very proud of Gunnar. This was a very tough competition, only one athlete was chosen in each weight division to participate." "Tokey Hill, Team Leader said, "This was a very positive experience for everyone. This was one of the best delegations I have ever been involved in and the Federation has created a user friendly environment and it is great to see we have a lot of talent coming up".

The NKF/USA team brought home a total of 7 gold medals, 3 Silver medals and 15 bronze medals. Over-all the NKF/USA team was able to take third in the medal count among all the countries competing at the 2008 Pan Am Games. Next year's Pan Am Games will be held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and many of these athletes will be back to better their performances. For more information about this article, please go to www.floridakarateacademy.com or call 772-563-9333.