Geraldine Sidders is feeling inspired after producing a good showing at last week’s Canadian Wushu National Championships in Waterloo, Ontario.

The Bermudian athlete narrowly missed out on the podium after finishing fourth in the Jianshu (straight sword) with a score of 8.223 and sixth in Changquan (longfist) with a score of 7.3.

“I was very pleased with my performance,” Sidders told The Royal Gazette.

“During the month of July I worked very hard with coach Daria Kanel and other students at her gym [Orleans Wushu Centre] to learn my Jianshu form and get it to the best of my capability at that time.

“I feel like I truly executed it to the best of my ability at that time and am extremely pleased with it. It will definitely be a top form of mine in the future.

“As for open hand, it was not as strong as I wanted it to be. The technical parts of the form were very clean and to the standard of my liking. However, my jumps need a lot more work, which I am still working on.”

Bermuda Sanshou Association president Garon Wilkson was pleased by the athlete’s performance, particularly in the Jianshu discipline.

“Geraldine’s fourth-place finish was really impressive considering that she only completed the straight sword routine during her month-long training camp with wushu coach Daria Kanel in Ottawa,” he said.

The event was held from July 31 to August 2 and is a part of the 2026 International Martial Arts Festival and National Championships, which will take place alongside the biennial Ontario Summer Games Programme.

“The tournament was a collaborative effort between the Ontario Summer Games and the National Wushu Festival and it was an exciting and highly competitive event that brought together talented teams from diverse regions,” Wilkinson said. “Additionally, it featured a special visit from a Wushu team from India, who participated in both Taolu and Sanda competitions.”

As well as coach Kanel, Sidders also had fellow Bermudians and wushu athetles Kaelin Cox and Jecoa Burrows in her corner to assist with coaching and various aspects of the championships.

Cox and Burrows remain Canada for further training as they prepare for October’s Pan American Wushu Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Bermuda Team manager and international sanda judge, Nolette Webb, was also invited to officiate the 125 sanda bouts held over the course of three days at last week’s Canadian Wushu National Championships.