Every year the Vancouver institution that is the Georgia Straight runs an open poll to determine the "Best of Vancouver" in a variety of different categories, and for many businesses it is the measure of success and recognition in the city. Whereas restaurants and hotels have comprehensively recognised marks of excellence, in a lot of cases there is no way bar word of mouth and reputation, to rank competing enterprises -- hint, hint -- like martial arts schools. The Best of Vancouver is a staple for both tourists and locals in finding the best of everything, and we mean everything.

Last year (and for several years previously) Academie Duello placed third in the Martial Arts Studio category. Which is wonderful; to be considered the third best in Vancouver in anything is amazing and we are eternally grateful for everyone who has voted for us in the past. That said, we think we are number one. We want you to think so too. So here's what you can do. If you agree that Academie Duello is the best Martial Arts School in Vancouver, go right now and vote here. You can win a trip for two to Maui (a good enough incentive in and of itself), and you can support the world's largest European Martial Arts school in getting recognized as the place to go for martial arts in Vancouver.

Another thing we think we are best at (much to the burning jealousy of our adult students) is running kids' summer camps, and starting this year Best Summer Camp is open for voting. So if you have had a child in one of our camps, have seen them going on, or just love the idea of kids learning knightly virtues alongside badass medieval martial arts then you can vote for us in that category too.

Basically, we all believe in Academie Duello. We think you probably do too. Let's make it official.

ADDED BONUS WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

If you really really like us, and want to shout it from the rooftops but don't have a high enough tower available from which to broadcast your adoration, you can take to social media and join our campaign.

On Facebook, share the voting link from above and tag our like page. If you haven't liked our page already you will need to do so.
Same on Twitter, just use @academieduello and @georgiastraight to get the message out there.
Tell your friends. Seriously. They may not vote and we don't expect you to canvas the streets -- iPad in hand -- to get people to vote, but the worst case scenario is that you will have told someone that our school is great, and that's not too shabby.

On a final note, maybe you are reading and thinking "I've never been here, they seem nice but I don't know if they are the best"; this is totally reasonable. It just means you have the perfect opportunity to come and do a free trial to see what we're talking about. We look forward to showing you why we think we're number one.

Devon Boorman is the Co-Founder and Director of Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay, which has been active in Vancouver, Canada since 2004. Devon’s expertise centres on the Italian swordplay tradition including the arts of the Renaissance Italian rapier, sidesword, and longsword, as well as knife and unarmed techniques.
Read more from Devon Boorman.