Karate means business in GR

Sweetwater County’s premiere karate tournament returns to Green River next month, after a five-year hiatus and the city expects a bump in tourism dollars flowing to local businesses.

While the tournament started in Rock Springs 36 years ago, the tournament moved to Green River in 1991. Jim Dean of Pineda’s Kenpo Karate took over leadership of the tournament from founder Willie Pineda. For two decades the tournament was an annual part of the Green River community.

“It grew up in Green River,” Dean said. “I’m excited to have it back in Green River. It’s kind of a Mayberry feeling.”

Like Dean’s martial arts studio, the tournament was a part of the community for many years. Over the years, it became a well-known, well-attended and respected tournament. It eventually became a regional qualifier tournament for the International Martial Arts Festival hosted at Disney World every October. The next closest qualifiers were in Las Vegas, Kansas, and California. The tournament was also the only qualifier located in a small town.

The year the tournament left Green River was its last as a qualifier. It will once again be a take up that task this year along with its return to the city. Dean was asked by Disney to make his tournament a qualifier again because they needed one in the area.

Competitors who finish in first or second place will receive an invitation from Disney to the international tournament this year. Dean said his students are excited for the opportunity.

“I got my guys all jacked up and practicing,” he said. “They are excited.”

His students aren’t the only ones who are excited either, Green River City Council members and city administration staff is as well. Dean was approached by various people over the years to bring the tournament back to Green River. Councilman Allan Wilson asked him about bringing it back a few years ago when he was the city’s Parks and Recreation Department director, but timing and other logistics weren’t right at the time. Within the past year both current Parks and Recreation Department Director Brad Raney and Mayor Pete Rust approached Dean about it as well.

“After talking to them, I feel like this administration wants the event back in Green River,” Dean said.

“I’ve always wanted to have it return,” Rust said. “Somebody came to me and I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve always thought it should be in Green River.”

“Everything about it is a good thing, in my opinion,” he said.

Rust approached Dean about the possibility of bringing back the tournament this year after hearing from a student of Dean’s.

Rust said whatever happened in the past that caused the tournament to move to Rock Springs has nothing to do with anybody in the current city administration or governing body now.

Dean said if it wasn’t for the city of Rock Springs, it might have been the end of the tournament.

“It came real close to it,” Dean said.

At the time several years ago, Rust was on the city council as a council member and recalls there might have been a disagreement at some level in administration or the governing body, but along the way, Rust has always been a supporter.

“I’m glad I’m able to be in a position to make it happen now,” Rust said. “It makes me feel great, it absolutely does.”

Rust believes the tournament to be important to Green River. It’s important to the competitors who belong to the school, kids and adults alike, he said.

Most of the students are from Green River. Rust said from an economic development point of view, the tournament is important to the city as well.

“It brings prosperity to the businesses in town,” he said. “The motels and food businesses do well when it returns.”

Dean said Robert Berg, manager of Arctic Circle told him the tournament is their second biggest event of the year for them next to Flaming Gorge Days. The tournament brings in an average of 250 competitors from around the region and the nation, not including their friends and family who travel with them. He said he recalls having competitors drive all the way from Canada once for the tournament.

With that influx of people, more money will be spent locally and eventually return to the city through sales tax revenue. Like many municipalities throughout Wyoming, the city has faced budgetary shortfalls as a result of declined revenue.

“I’m glad it is coming back,” Wilson said. “As a council member I’m glad we are building that relationship back and are able to have that event in the Rec. Center. As a citizen, I like to see more people in our town and see what we have to offer.”

The tournament is May 21, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is open to spectators as well as competitors; $5 for adults and $2 for kids.

“It’s such a wide variety of things; it’s going to interest everybody,” Dean said. “If you’re not big into the fighting, if you watch the musical competition, as far as the forms, it’s pretty neat to see. What’s really neat is watching the kids to see what these kids are capable of doing.”