A Brighton woman and her son are the first-ever mother-son duo to compete in the annual Pokémon World TCG Championships.
Diane Schemanske and her son Alex Schemanske competed Aug. 11-13 in Yokohama, Japan.
Both of Shemanske’s sons — Alex and Christopher — are involved in Pokémon card tournaments, Alex as a multi-time champion, and Christopher as a tournament judge after competing many times himself.
Back in the day, the two boys would compete at places like the Brighton District Library, where kids could play to win gym badges, proof of your achievement and readiness for whatever came next. Diane Schemanske decided to learn to play and compete.
This was Diane Schemanske’s first time being invited to compete at the World Championships. To earn an invite, players must compete at lower levels to make it to a points threshold. While she wasn’t able to move on to the second day of play, Alex Schemanske finished in 11th place and took home a cash prize of $2,500.
In order to qualify to complete in the World Championship, a player must compete in tournaments to earn championship points. Diane Schemanske was 68 points shy of an invite, so she attended as many competitions as she could — including one in Johannesburg, South Africa — to qualify for the world competition.
She said it didn’t matter that she wasn’t able to move on in play.
“Sure, I would have liked to move on, but that wasn’t the point,” she said. “The point was that I made it (to Japan).”
Shemanske said that she did her best in Japan, and that she had a great time.
She and her sons use their prize money to pay for their travel to competitions around the world.
Currently, both Diane and Alex Schemanske are preparing for the next regional competition in Pittsburgh. Beyond that, they have their eyes set on Hawaii, where the 2024 World Championships will take place, and they continue to enjoy having fun in the community which they hold dear.
When she isn’t competing in Pokémon tournaments, Diane Schemanske is head of corporate services for North America for EDL, which owns and operates a global portfolio of power stations in Australia, North America and Europe.
