Stonetown Karate’s second annual Master of the Ring Tournament brings close to twice the competitors

Isla Houston, part of Stonetown Karate, was representing the St. Marys-based karate centre at the Master of the Ring Tournament at the Stratford Rotary Complex on March 28.

By Spencer Seymour

The second annual Master of the Ring Tournament, run by Stonetown Karate, brought in lots of enthusiasm and nearly double the participants.

Stonetown Karate held their Master of the Ring Tournament at the Stratford Rotary Complex on March 28. The tournament saw a variety of competitions throughout the day with participants of all ages. The Master of the Ring Tournament brought about 400 competitors, which is nearly double the number who competed at the 2025 event.

“It went very well; Ran smoothly, lots of compliments. Judges, volunteers and families; they all seemed to really enjoy it,” said Sensei Jeremy Lorentz, owner of Stonetown Karate.

In a follow-up with the St. Marys Independent, Lorentz said he’s grateful for the 40 volunteers who dedicated their time to helping out with the event’s operations.

“We couldn’t do it without our karate parents who are a crucial part in making our tournament run smoothly. They help with registration at the door, scorekeeping at the rings, tech, food and answering questions,” he said. “These individuals make our tournament one of the most liked tournaments in our circuit and we wanted to give them a shout out for their efforts.”

All Stonetown Karate students are part of the World Karate Commission circuit (WKC) that runs provincial, national, and world events. The Master of the Ring Tournament is part of the WKC circuit and the last tournament before the Ontario Provincials in Brantford on April 11.

“It’s a great final time to hit the mats and have all those competitors be ready for the provincials,” Lorentz said.

He added at least five to six higher-end competitors usually compete in the Ontario Provincials tournament each year.

“Generally, cross our fingers, we’ve been pretty lucky because they all tend to make the provincials and then they go to the nationals, they make Team Canada there and then head to the worlds,” he said. “We’ve always been very lucky with the smaller group that goes.”

More information about Stonetown Karate and its programming can be found online either by visiting the Stonetown Karate Facebook page or www.stonetownkarate.ca.