eNews May 2019 Issue

Australian Taekwondo has partnered with Jols for the #TaekwonDownUnder Photo Competition

#TAEKWONDOWNUNDER Photo competition. Squeeze that magic into a single shot and you could win big. Post your photo to Instagram or Facebook before June 1, 2019.

Tag @jolscombatsports with the hashtag: #TaekwonDownUnder and either #People, #Fun or #Spirit – whichever best matches the image.

The best photo in each category wins.

Click HERE for full terms and conditions

Congratulations Janine Watson

We are pleased to announce that Janine Watson has been granted dAIS funding from the Australian Institute of Sport worth $11,500 to assist her preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Janine has been awarded the dAIS funding after her good performance at the recent World Para-Taekwondo Championships in Turkey.

Janine competes the in the K44 +58kg female category and trains at Tans Currumbin in Queensland.

Australian Taekwondo has also nominated Janine for September's Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Test Event, and we wish her well for her selection.

Australian Taekwondo gratefully acknowledges the Australian Institute of Sport's support for our Para-Athletes.

Pink Belt Project Enters a Second Year

Australian Taekwondo has flagged its support again in 2019 for the Pink Belt Project – a charity aimed at empowering women in need with free Taekwondo.

The project was launched last year and was the idea of The Mortal Mouse Taekwondo Blogger Kristy Hitchens.

A fundraising campaign will kick off again in July and applications for Taekwondo Scholarships will open in October

To support the project and stay up-to-date with news and updates, LIKE the Facebook Page @pinkbeltproject.

You might have already spotted the smart new logo hand-drawn and created by graphic artist Navira Trimansyah who generously donated her time and expertise to the project.

Through fundraising and clubs offering to run their own matched scholarships, a total of seven women in need from around Australia commenced their one year of free Taekwondo training in January.
An additional six clubs still have scholarships available for the right candidates.

Comments from Scholarship recipients so far who all began their training in January have been (*names changed to protect identities):

*Linda
Learning all these new techniques are life changing for me. I am growing so much. Especially in confidence.
I am so grateful for everyone involved in this pink belt initiative. It has given me my life back.

*Nicole
With my self confidence at an all time low, and feeling like a shadow of my former self, I sent my application. And here I am! Arriving at another training session, in my second month and loving it. I feel strong and empowered.
I feel more confident; and have found a little piece of joy, in one hour a day, twice a week. And it’s mine.

*Anaya
Last week I passed my Red Belt.
There was no words that can describe how happy and grateful I was. That means it’s now not far ahead to work towards that Black Belt that I want to achieve by the end of the year.
And I wouldn’t ever be able to do it without Pink Belt Scholarships.

We look forward to bringing you further updates about the project as it rolls out again in 2019, hopefully even bigger and better than last year!

For more information about the project and additional links visit the fundraising project page at chuffed.org.au/project/pinkbelt

The Parents' Guide to Clean Sport

ASADA has released a great new resource for parents, teachers and coaches to help children achieve their sporting goals and also in protecting them from the potential pitfalls of doping.

The Parents’ Guide to Clean Sport is available both as a brochure and as a short 15-20min online course, and covers topics such as healthy sport cultures, nutrition, the risks of supplements and doping risk factors, and includes links to websites for further useful information.

Links to both can be found on the ASADA website HERE.

If your club or association would like our Parents’ Guide advertising postcards to hand out at events (copy attached), please don’t hesitate to contact ASADA Education at education@asada.gov.au and we can send them out to you.
All free of charge.

Sport Accord Gold Coast: Taekwondo Participation

SportAccord is the world sport and business summit. It is focused on driving positive change internationally and dedicated to engaging and connecting; international federations, rights holders, organising committees, cities, press and media, businesses and other organisations involved in the development of sport.

The below 4 athletes will be attending the opening ceremony:

Lachlan Bolton - Tans Currumbin
Mitchell McGuire - Edge
Aiken Granier-Ameur - One
Tiarnagh Sweeney – One

A World Taekwondo demo team will also be performing with the World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue in attendance. Their schedule includes

 - a short display after the Opening Ceremony (Gold Coast Sports Festival 2019 on the 8th May in the evening from 18.30-19.30pm on the Mainstage at Kurrawa Park):

- 9th May - 5:30pm - 6:30pm – Display by WT demo team at the Tatami martial art zone.

 - 10th May - 1pm - 2pm – Display by WT demo team at the Tatami martial art zone.

For further information on the Sport Accord please click HERE.