Martial Arts Centre closing

In a surprise announcement to members last week, Elite Martial Arts Centre Master Barb Marian stated the club will close its doors at the end of this month.

The club, which started here and expanded to Cobourg has seen numerous of its athletes perform extremely well at the provincial and national level.

Master Marian has recently made significant strides in her progress as an international referee and is a potential referee in the 2012 Olympics in London, England. Her international obligations take her around the world to referee major comptetitions.

Her letter to club members is posted below with her permission.

Dear Colborne Members:

I have some rather sad news. I have decided that after 10 years, the Colborne Dojang will be closing at Christmas, and not re-opening in 2010. I have been travelling so much and will continue to do so, in the hopes of achieving my goal of refereeing at the Olympic Games. With Master Adam and Master Clayton now both in college, it is increasingly more difficult for them to teach classes in my absence. Ten years ago, the Marian family thought long and hard about opening this club. Again, we have discussed this closure at great length and have not made this decision lightly. But we feel it is in the best interests of the Marian family and of our students that we close the Colborne club.

I will therefore, be teaching at the Cobourg Dojang on a regular basis, when I am not travelling. It is my hope that all Colborne members continue to practice taekwondo at the Cobourg club. Indeed, the commute to the club will be longer, but hopefully you will be able to do some car pooling with other Colborne members.

Master Glenn has graciously agreed that all Colborne members will continue to pay the same Colborne membership rate to me, and have the advantage of training up to six days a week at the Cobourg facility. I believe that all members will continue to flourish at the Cobourg club, where the membership numbers are greater and classes are more specialized for the age and/or belt level of the participant. I have included a copy of the Cobourg timetable on the back of this letter for your reference.

I am truly sorry for the inconvenience caused by the closure, but I do hope to see each and every one of you in Cobourg and continue your quest to black belt excellence.

Yours truly,

Master Barbara Marian