We cut our vacation to OBX short this summer so Nik could attend Team USA tryouts in UnionTown, PA. A 9:40 hour drive turned out to be 12+ hours due to a tunnel closure in VA (30 minutes) and nightmare traffic in DC (1.5 hours to go 8 miles). We made it there late Friday; albeit, only for the last 30 minutes of the first days interviews.
Saturday's competitions were very tough. The participants were competing against the best of the best from
NAFMA. I was nervous. Nik is good; but some of these kids were unbelievable.
Nik did not do as well as he expected in weapons (4th place) and did not qualify. He was crushed! I tried to give him a pep talk. It was falling on deaf ears. I thought he gave up.
Forms were next and he got up and nailed it dead on. As I watched him, I could not believe how good he had done (ok - I am a bit biased). His scores placed him in the top 3 (2nd) with just a few competitors left. Jenny and I watched nervously as the following competitors ran through their katas. One competitor scored higher and pushed Nik to 3rd place. "HE MADE IT!" echoed in my mind as I saw him step into the 3rd place position; Jenny and I could breath easy again.
Needless to say, Nik was bouncing off the walls of the hotel all night and into the next day and was still glowing when we finally got back home.
Time spent driving: 19 hours
Gas: $89.00
Hotel: $200
Meals: $118
Nik making Team USA:
Priceless!
