|
|
I would like to begin
this news bulletin by congratulating our students on
their wonderful performances at American College of
Taekwondo Friendship Tournament, held on March 17,
2003, in West Palm Beach. The Weiss School was
represented by twenty-seven students.
The beginners and first
time competitors were introduced to the tournament
environment and procedures in friendly,
non-threatening settings. Our advanced competitors
gained much needed practice and ring time for the
more demanding championships.
Our group, which
included twelve first time competitors, took home 14
first place trophies, plus the Female Grand Champion
Title for color belts.
Olivia Beale won the
first place in the girls’ Red Belt, 11-13 year old
division with a tie breaker round against her class
mate Charlotte Clement. Both girls’ performances and
technical level were superb. I was unable to predict
the outcome of this match, even with my 20+ years
experience in judging and refereeing. The girls will
compete again against each other this summer at the
National Junior Olympics in California.
|
|
|
All first place winners
became eligible to compete for the Grand Champion
Titles (one female and one male). I am proud to
announce that Olivia Beale was awarded the 2007
Female Grand Champion title by receiving the highest
scores of all participating female competitors.
The Boys’ Green/Blue
Belt division had major mix-ups, which were noticed
too late to fix correctly. It is unfortunate that
some students, who clearly deserved a first place,
were announced as second or third place recipients.
I hope that this incident will not discourage our
athletes from competing again, but instead, it would
bring about a stronger determination to work hard
to stand out, skill-wise, in their next tournament.
Special Thanks to
instructors Pauleen Walsh and Tatsuaki Hayashi
for helping with the coaching at this event.
Marika Powell
|