Hello everybody!

My name is Claudia Laos Loo and I am a Female Individual Kata Athlete on the Karate Canada Senior National Team.

This 2026 competitive season, I intend to compete at the following events:

1) Karate Canada National Championships - Halifax, Nova Scotia (February 20-22)

2) K1 Premier League - Rome, Italy (March 13-15)

3) USA Open Championships - Texas, USA (April 3-5)

4) Karate BC Provincial Championships - Richmond, BC (April 11-12)

5) Senior Panamerican Karate Championships - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (May 28-31)

6) K1 Series A - Salzburg, Austria (October 2-4)

My goals over the next 2 years are the following:

1) to place within the Top 8 at a K-1 Premier League

2) to become Karate Canada National Champion 2026

3) to become Pan American Champion

4) to qualify for the 2027 Pan American Olympic Games (Lima, Peru)

5) to qualify for the WKF Senior World Championships in 2027

Unfortunately, Karate Canada offers little to no financial assistance and requires athletes to self-fund their training, competition, travel, and accommodation expenses. For this reason, I decided to start a GoFundMe back in 2022 to financially assist with my endeavors.

The money raised on this platform has definitely helped fund my travels over the years. I am so grateful for the support and encouragement I've received! Thank you all so much for your contribution towards my goals and dreams.

With your help, I was able to achieve multiple goals since 2022:

1) GOLD - 2022 Commonwealth Karate Championships (Birmingham, England)

2) BRONZE - 2022 FISU World University Combat Games (Samsun, Turkey)

3) SILVER - 2023 Paris Open (Paris, France)

4) SILVER - 2023 North American Cup (Las Vegas, USA)

5) SILVER - 2023 USA Open (Las Vegas, USA)

6) TOP 7 - 2023 K1 Series A (Vancouver/Richmond, BC)

7) QUALIFIED for the 2023 Pan Am Olympic Games (San Jose, Costa Rica)

8) BRONZE- 2023 Senior Pan American Championships (San Jose, Costa Rica)

9) BRONZE - 2023 Pan Am Olympic Games (Santiago, Chile)

10) GOLD - 2023 Canada Open Championships (Richmond, BC)

11) Sandra Sanchez & Jesus Del Moral Elite Training Camp (Talavera de la Reina, Spain)

12) K-1 Premier League, March 14-17 , 2024 (Antalya, Turkey)

13) BRONZE - USA Open, March 30-31, 2024 (Fort Worth, Texas)

14) GOLD - BC Provincial Championships, April 6-7 , 2024 (Richmond, BC)

15) Senior Pan American Championships, May 23-26, 2024 (Punta Del Este, Uruguay)

16) K-1 Premier League, May 30-June 2, 2024 (Casablanca, Morocco)

17) GOLD - Karate Canada National Championships, July 4-7, 2024 (Laval, QC)

18) 5TH PLACE - January 10-12, 2025: Series A Championships - Tbilisi, Georgia

19) January 13-21, 2025: Training in Stokholm, Sweden

20) January 24-26, 2025: K1 Premier League - Paris, France

21) February 14-16, 2025: Series A Championships - Larnaca, Cyprus

22) GOLD - April 3-6, 2025: Karate Canada National Championships - Richmond, Canada

23) GOLD - April 18-20, 2025: USA Open Championships - Las Vegas, USA

24) SILVER - May 2025 Sr. PKF Championships - Monterrey, Mexico

25) QUALIFIED - for the WKF Senior World Championships

26) November 27-30, 2025 - WKF Senior World Championships: Cairo, Egypt

A little about me: 

I am 28 years old from Surrey, BC and have been practicing Karate since I was 7. I've been on the Karate Canada Junior and Senior National Teams since 2014 and 2019, respectively.

My typical schedule consists of training twice a day, 5-6 days a week. This includes my Karate training and strength & conditioning sessions at SCIENCED Athletics. I teach voluntarily at Nikkei Karate, and I work part-time at my local Starbucks Coffee Co. as a barista and sponsored athlete.

 

In April 2021, I graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Physiology & Kinesiology and a Certificate in Occupational Ergonomics. Upon graduation, I worked as a Kinesiologist for 8 months. Unfortunately, I faced many challenges trying to balance 2 jobs, teaching/volunteering, and my Karate training schedule. In November 2021, I resigned as a Kinesiologist to pursue my love and passion for Karate.

Over the years, my love for teaching and learning continued to grow. Today, I aspire to become a secondary school Physical Education teacher by pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Education from the University of British Columbia (UBC). I have applied for the Fall 2026/2027 program starting September 2026.

 

I truly appreciate you all for taking the time to read my story and become a part of my journey. Thank you in advance for believing in me and helping me get one step closer to my goals. I will always remember your generous support and I am very grateful for any donation!

Please continue to follow my journey on GoFundMe, where I'll be posting updates and writing about my travel and competition experiences!

 

Other ways to support:

Thank you kindly,

Claudia Laos Loo

Nikkei Karate Tournament Instructor

Karate Canada Athlete Co-Director

Canadian Sport Institute Pacific Game Plan Ambassador