SUCCESS FOR TAEKWONDO ATHLETES AT 2024 OCEANIA OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT

The 2024 Oceania Olympic Qualification Tournament was held at the National Aquatics Centre in Honiara, Solomon Islands on April 6, 2024. Athletes from nine countries within the Oceania region were competing for eight quota spots to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and four Taekwondo New Zealand (TNZ) athletes had their sights set on the podium.

One the countries present at the event was Australia, a perennial Taekwondo powerhouse that undoubtedly made the challenge for success difficult, but for the two females and two males selected by Taekwondo New Zealand to compete at the event, this was a challenge they were more than willing to accept.

Adversity has always been something that Taekwondo New Zealand has had to deal with over the years, from internal political issues and athlete disputes, to the current struggle to gain approval for membership to the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC), so this was not going to be any different from the athletes’ perspective.

Taekwondo New Zealand President Grandmaster Jin Keun Oh said, “This is an amazing group of athletes that have worked hard against all of the odds to not only attend this event, but to compete with pride in representing New Zealand and the silver fern and that’s what makes me proud to be part of their success”.

Two of the athletes won their respective divisions and in doing so gained the coveted ‘ticket’ to the Olympics which can now accompany their request to NZOC to be part of the New Zealand Olympic team to attend the Paris Olympic games in July.

However, the journey for these two athletes is not going to be an easy one. For two years, TNZ has been in discussions with NZOC regarding the reinstatement of their membership to the Olympic body and despite TNZ being recognised by their international body, World Taekwondo (WT), the path to NZOC membership reinstatement has been slow.

“This has been a long process for both parties and one that the TNZ board are adamant will be achieved and we will continue to provide the necessary evidence requested by NZOC to support our application for membership. This is about our athletes’ dreams and goals and we will do all we can to support them”, said Oh.

For the time being, the TNZ efforts to support their athletes must remain on the sideline as NZOC will not accept any submissions from TNZ as a non-member of NZOC on behalf of their athletes. Having only received confirmation from NZOC late last year that TNZ submissions to the Paris Olympics would not be accepted, the TNZ coaching and management team rallied to support the athletes in their quest for success at the Oceania Olympic Qualifier.

“There is a huge amount of courage and respect given to a team that perseveres toward such a formidable task, knowing that even if they win, the desired outcome may still not be attained. This is the epitome of focusing on the opportunity when the outcome is never guaranteed and you can’t write a better script than that”, said Oh.

The Taekwondo community will celebrate the success for the two Taekwondo New Zealand athletes, but they will be under no illusions that their toughest fight may still be ahead.

ENDS

For enquiries relating to this media release, please contact Natasha Swainson, Taekwondo New Zealand Communications Lead, at comms@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz

TNZ AGM 2024

TNZ Annual General Meeting (AGM) - 5th May 2024

Dear Taekwondo New Zealand members and community,

 

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

This is to inform you that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for Taekwondo New Zealand will be held on Sunday 5th May 2024. You can attend in person or via zoom. We'll also be recording it.

Date: Sunday 5th May 2024
Time: 10 am
Location:

·       Sejong Taekwondo
36A Anzac Road, 1st Floor
Browns Bay
Auckland

·       Zoom

o   If you're attending by Zoom you'll need to register with comms@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz, by the 4th May so you get all the meeting details and instructions.

Resolutions to be put forward before the meeting should be notified to the Secretary General by email (secretary@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz) before the 19th April. Items to be put forward to the AGM need to be done via the General Meeting Item Request Form (Click here for the form).

To be eligible to vote you must;

·       Be a Kukkiwon Dan holder

·       Be aged 18 years and over AND

·       Have a current up-to-date GMS membership.

Members wishing to vote by proxy must fill out the Proxy Voting form (Click here) and return it to the Secretary-General via email (secretary@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz) before the 19th April.

Ensure you're ready to vote at the meeting.
We'd like to encourage all eligible TNZ members to vote at the AGM. ,We ask that AT LEAST club instructors be financial members of the GMS.

You can renew your GMS membership by;

·       logging into the GMS as an individual and renewing your membership

·       getting your club GMS admin to log in and renew the memberships or

·       sending the GMS administrator (gms@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz) a spreadsheet noting:- Name of member(s) and CLUB they are a member of. You’ll need to pay TNZ approximately $8 NZD ($5 USD) per membership, then your membership will be renewed.

Note:

·       The current membership fee is approximately $8 NZD ($5 USD) per person and is an admin fee to the GMS database providers (simplycompete).

·       If a word.doc version(s) of either the Proxy Voting Form or the General Meeting Agenda Item Forms are required please contact comms@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz

·       The website link to the TNZ GMS portal is https://tnz.simplycompete.com/

Kind regards,

Taekwondo New Zealand

Building Stronger Relationships for NZ

TNZ President Grandmaster Oh travels to Korea to build upon Taekwondo New Zealand’s relationships with Taekwondo world leaders.

On a recent trip to Korea, Grandmaster Oh visited with many influential taekwondo leaders. He met with World Taekwondo (WT) President Dr Choue and Secretary General Mr Seo, discussing issues relating to taekwondo in New Zealand and overseas.

The WT President pledged support for Taekwondo New Zealand in its endeavours in 2024.

Taekwondo New Zealand has embraced the Kukkiwon Office concept and has been one of the early adopters. In meetings with Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Academy, Grandmaster Oh was able to build on New Zealand's current relationships through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the further work of the Kukkiwon New Zealand Office (KNZO).

He gained approval for hosting a Kukkiwon International Master Course, which will be held from the 12th to the 15th of August. The week will culminate in KNZO holding the 2nd Annual Kukkiwon Cup (August 17th). The host city for these two events will be Tauranga.

Adding to the busy schedule of meetings, Grandmaster Oh met with the Korean Taekwondo Association to discuss forming a working relationship involving training, education and the promotion of taekwondo. On his return to New Zealand, Grandmaster Oh will speak to the TNZ Board regarding his meetings and the progress these bodies have seen in taekwondo in New Zealand over the last three years.

Expressions of Interest - TNZ Operations Officer

Taekwondo New Zealand is moving forward into 2024 with a vision of developing taekwondo in our community.

The Taekwondo New Zealand Board has created a non-Board, non-voting position titled “ TNZ Operations Officer”. 

The position of Operations Officer is primarily focused on oversight of all TNZ activities to ensure compliance with the TNZ constitution, policies and practices and Code of Conduct.

Application for the position can be made by emailing a cover letter and curriculum vitae to: comms@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz 

The application process closing date is: Friday 26th, 2024.

The successful applicant will be notified by the 31st January 2024. 

The contract period is the 1st February, 2024 until the 31st December, 2024.

TNZ Annual General Meeting (AGM) - 7th May 2023

Please note: The submission date to submit proxy votes has been extended to Saturday 6th May.

Dear Taekwondo New Zealand members and community,

 

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

This is to inform you that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for Taekwondo New Zealand will be held on Sunday 7th May 2023. You can attend in person or via zoom. We'll also be recording it.

Date: Sunday 7th May 2023
Time: 9 am
Location:

• Sejong Taekwondo
  36A Anzac Road, 1st Floor
  Browns Bay
  Auckland

• Zoom

  • If you're attending by Zoom you'll need to register with comms@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz, by the 6th May so you get all the meeting details and instructions.
    

Resolutions to be put forward before the meeting should be notified to the Secretary General by email (secretary@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz) before the 24th April. Items to be put forward to the AGM need to be done via the General Meeting Item Request Form (Click here for the form).

To be eligible to vote you must;

• Be a Kukkiwon Dan holder

• Be aged 18 years and over AND

• Have a a current up-to-date GMS membership.

Members wishing to vote by proxy must fill out the Proxy Voting form (Click here for the form) and return it to the Secretary General via email (secretary@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz) before the 24th April.

Ensure you're ready to vote at the meeting.
We'd like to encourage all eligible TNZ members to vote at the AGM. ,We ask that AT LEAST club instructors be financial members of the GMS.

You can renew your GMS membership by;

• logging into the GMS as an individual and renewing your membership

• getting your club GMS admin to log in and renew the memberships or

• sending the GMS administrator (gms@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz) a spreadsheet noting:- Name of member(s) and CLUB they are a member of. You’ll need to pay TNZ $8 NZD ($5 USD) per membership, then your membership will be renewed.

Note:

• The current membership fee is approximately $8 NZD ($5 USD) per person and is an admin fee to the GMS database providers (simplycompete).

• If a word.doc version(s) of either the Proxy Voting Form or the General Meeting Agenda Item Forms are required please contact comms@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz

• The website link to the TNZ GMS portal is https://tnz.simplycompete.com/

Kind regards,

Taekwondo New Zealand

TNZ PRESIDENT’S 2023 NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE

Dear New Zealand Taekwondo Family,

PRESIDENT’S 2023 NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE

Happy New Year to all of our Taekwondo Whanau,

I trust that your holiday season is going well and that you are looking forward to an exciting year ahead.  Here at Taekwondo New Zealand (TNZ) we have had a chance to reflect on a very successful 2022 that has included,

·       Recognition from World Taekwondo and Oceania Taekwondo as the sole governing body for WT style Taekwondo in New Zealand.  

·       The election of our TNZ board member (Jamie Carpenter) as a WT World Council member – an amazing achievement that will provide positive outcomes for Taekwondo in New Zealand.

·       The implementation of the TNZ High Performance Program for our competitive athletes.

·       The acknowledgement of our member organisations as an integral part of our Taekwondo landscape.

·       The TNZ National Championships – a great success and the first for 3 years.

·       The selection of our TNZ National team to compete at the Oceania Taekwondo Championships in Tahiti and the subsequent tournament which provided not only an opportunity for our athletes to showcase themselves on the international stage but also achieve long time personal goals.

·       The completion of a working relationship between TNZ and the Kukkiwon culminating in the forming of the first New Zealand Kukkiwon Office to administer and oversee all Kukkiwon matters for our members.

·       The Kukkiwon Master Instructors and Examiners course – an event that brought together our Taekwondo community for a week of intensive instruction from Kukkiwon Masters.  The positive impact that this event provided for our most senior Taekwondo members cannot be underestimated.  Practitioners from all corners of New Zealand worked tirelessly together for the greater good to upskill our Taekwondo environment.

·       Meeting with the NZ Olympic Committee CEO and Chief Operations Officer to begin the process of recognition as the sole WT Style Taekwondo governing body in New Zealand.

There has certainly been a lot to celebrate over the past year and the TNZ Board appreciate that there is still much more to achieve in the coming year. 

Our calendar for 2023 is filling up fast and currently consists of,

· Kyorugi and Poomsae seminars.

· Tournaments from member organisations.

· Selections for the 2023 World Championships.

In addition, we are currently finalising details to host the 2023 Kukkiwon Cup in Auckland!  As you will know, this is a significant event on the international calendar and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to bring this to New Zealand for our members. 

Our communication is something the TNZ Board take pride in and believe that transparency is the key to building concrete relationships with our members.  Our focus remains inclusive and it has been encouraging to see students from all of our member organisations involved in TNZ events.  The TNZ Board understand that our Taekwondo community is diverse and that we may not always agree 100% of the time, but it is important to remember that as a governing body, TNZ will continue to build on our success for the benefit of you, our members.

Happy New Year and all the best for 2023.

Yours Faithfully

GRANDMASTER JIN KEUN OH

President

Meri Kirihimete and Happy New Year

Dear New Zealand Taekwondo community, family, and friends,

The Taekwondo New Zealand board would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. We hope you all have a safe and wonderful summer break and are looking forward to seeing you all in the New Year. Thank you to everyone in our community for all your support during 2022 we couldn’t be doing this without you.

We are looking forward to a bigger, better, and busier 2023. For those already planning for next year, make sure you check out the events calendar below for upcoming events and training opportunities. Entry packs are already out, for some tournaments, along with the Selection Document for the WT World Kyorugi Championships to be held in Baku (More Info).


Meri Kirihimete

From
Taekwondo New Zealand

---

Click on the images for more information

 

2023 Taekwondo New Zealand Event Calendar

For those events with additional information available on the Taekwondo New Zealand website, please click on the links provided.

• 28th to 29th Jan (Development), Kyorugi Training with Olympic Medalist, hosted by VWT Performance Rotorua and TNZ High Performance Director – Rotorua (More Info)

• 4th to 5th Feb (Development), TNZ Poomsae Training Camp – by VWT Performance Rotorua and TNZ High Performance Director – Rotorua (More Info)

• 25th Feb (Level 1), NZUTA Bay Open – Team KO, Tauranga Boys’ College (K + P)

• 26th Feb (N/A), TNZ Selection Event for World Champs -TNZ, Tauranga Boys’ College (K) (More info) (Links to the Selection Document and Selection Policy, more information to come)

• 25th March (N/A), TNM Development Tournament – Progressive, Richmond Taekwondo, Saxton Stadium, Nelson (K + P) (More Info and entry pack details)

• 15th to 16th April (Level 2), Budo South Open – Progressive, Budo South, Tauranga Boys’ College (K + P + Para) (More info and entry pack details)

• 29th to 30th April (N/A) Gold Cost Open - Australia, Caboolture, Gold Coast (K+P+Para)

• 6th to 7th May (Development), TNZ Poomsae Training Camp, South Island

• 7th May, TNZ Annual General Meeting – Auckland and Virtual

• 29th to 4th June (Level 3), WT World Kyorugi Championships – World Taekwondo, Baku (K)

• 3rd to 4th June (Level 2), NZUTA Open – NZUTA Tauranga Boys’ College, (P+K+Para)

• 10th June (Level 1) TUNZ South Open – TUNZ, Chch Olympic, Pioneer Stadium, Christchurch (K+P)

• 6th to 9th July (G2) Australian Open ( – possible other) – Australia, AT, South Pine Sports Complex, Brisbane (K+P+Para)

• 15th July (Level 1), TUNZ North Island Open, TUNZ, New Plymouth TKD, YMCA, New Plymouth (K+P)

• 5 to 6th August, (Level 1) Hyeon Mu Taekwondo New Zealand Open – WTNZ, Hyeon Mu, Pioneer Stadium, Christchurch (K+P)

• 19th to 20th August, Kukkiwon Cup – Taekwondo New Zealand National Championships – TNZ, Barfoot and Thompson Stadium, Auckland (K+P+Para)

• 14th to 16th September (Level 3), Papua New Guinea Open – Papua New Guinea, Port Morsby (K+P+Para)

• 23rd to 24th September (Level 1), TUNZ National Open – Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua (K+P+Para)

• 21st October (Level 1), TUNZ Top of the South, Blenhiem

  Please note:

• This calendar is live document and will be subject to change, please check in regularly for updates. This calendar is available on our Facebook page and website.

• This is not a full list of educational and training seminars and/or camps that will be held and hosted by TNZ throughout the year. Seminars, camps, and training opportunities will be updated as they are confirmed.

• New Zealand based tournaments are confirmed and listed as per the information that has been submitted to TNZ by Member Organisations.

• N/A Level not applicable at this stage or yet to be determined.- Levels indicate TNZ sanctioned events where athletes can earn NZ national ranking points (Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3)- Development Tournaments do not qualify for NZ National Ranking points.

TNZ Annual General Meeting - 8th May 2022

Dear Taekwondo New Zealand Community,

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

This is to inform you that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for Taekwondo New Zealand will be held on Sunday 8th May 2022 and will be able to attend in person or via Zoom. This meeting will be recorded.


Date: Sunday 8th May 2022
Time: 10am to 12pm (noon)
Location:

• Sejong Taekwondo
  36A Anzac Road, 1st Floor
  ​Browns Bay
  ​Auckland

• Zoom

  • Please note; For those wishing to attend by Zoom you will need to register with comms@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz, by the 7th May to ensure you receive all meeting details and instructions.

Resolutions to be put forward before the meeting should be notified to the Secretary General by email (secretary@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz) prior to the 25th April. Items to be put forward to the AGM need to be done via the General Meeting Item Request Form (see link below).

Persons eligible for voting:

• Kukkiwon Dan holders

• aged 18 years and over AND

• who are current GMS financial.

Members wishing to vote by proxy must fill out the Proxy Voting form (see link below) and return it to the Secretary General via email (secretary@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz) prior to the 25th April.

TO BE ABLE TO VOTE AT THE MEETING: We would like to encourage all TNZ members who are Kukkiwon Dan holders and are aged 18 years and over to ensure they are current financial members of the GMS system. We ask that clubs ensure that AT LEAST the instructors be financial members of the GMS. This will require renewing memberships. This can be done in three ways.

• The individual logs into the GMS and clicks the renew membership button.

• The Club GMS admin logs in and renews the memberships

• Someone sends me a spreadsheet noting:- Name of member and CLUB they are a member of. Once they have paid TNZ the $8 per membership, I will then renew their membership.

Note:

• The current membership fee is $8 per person and is an admin fee to the GMS system.

• If you would like a word .doc version(s) of either the Proxy Voting Form or the General Meeting Adenga Item Forms please contact comms@newzealandtaekwondo.co.nz

• The website link to the TNZ GMS portal is https://tnz.simplycompete.com/

Kind regards,

Natasha Swainson

TNZ COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Taekwondo New Zealand extends relationship with Simply Compete

Taekwondo New Zealand extends relationship with Simply Compete 

Simply Compete is one of the most comprehensive and proven sports management platforms in the world, offering a range of fully integrated components to support the growing needs of today’s sports organisations and their users. It is a global provider of technology for sports organisations such as national and international federations, sports clubs and event organisers.

In March of 2022, the Taekwondo New Zealand (TNZ) signed a contract with Simply Compete (hereinafter SC), with the help of which TNZ will gain an independent platform for membership and events. SC enables associations and clubs to monitor membership, membership fees, results, as well as the organisation of events and competitions.

"We have been using the SC system for the last few years and we are also looking forward to further cooperation. The use of SC is transparent and user-friendly. Previous platforms we have used have not been so accessible to all”, says the GMS director of Taekwondo New Zealand, Garry Carpenter, adding that the customer support is very ‘responsive’ and ‘helpful’ to users.

In this regard, we already looking forward to the independent use of the system with all the existing functions, as well as those that are to come.

General information about SC can be found at https://simplycompete.com/

Recognition of Service Award: Grandmaster Tae Kyung Kim and Master Stan Wagner

Recognition of Service Award:

Grandmaster Tae Kyung Kim & Master Stan Wagner

The Taekwondo New Zealand (TNZ) Board recognises the long history of Taekwondo in NZ, especially amongst its athletes, officials and wider community. Many individuals have contributed their time and resources in developing Taekwondo, not only as a sport, but also as a martial art. In recognition of these individuals, the TNZ Board has created an award to honour these individuals for their commitment, and their very positive impact upon the New Zealand Taekwondo community.

These honours are to be awarded at the Board’s discretion, as recognition of outstanding individuals showing commitment to, and impacting positively on, the Taekwondo community within New Zealand and internationally. Of particular importance is long term service - working on a voluntary basis, with no monetary compensation; and having touched the lives of many athletes so positively and profoundly.

Please join us in congratulating Grandmaster Tae Kyung Kim and Master Stan Wagner, as the first recipients of this award and thanking them for their significant contributions to Taekwondo.

Message from TNZ President Grandmaster Jin Keun Oh

14th October 2021

Dear New Zealand Taekwondo Family,

WORLD TAEKWONDO COUNCIL MEMBER

Our Taekwondo New Zealand (TNZ) Board member Jamie Carpenter has been elected as a member of the World Taekwondo (WT) Council in the recent WT elections.

The TNZ Board congratulate Jaime for this significant achievement and wish her all the best in her role as she helps shape the future of Taekwondo throughout the world.

This is extremely positive news for New Zealand Taekwondo and continues to form part of the encouraging change being implemented by the TNZ Board . As the TNZ President, I aim to develop the capability of the governing body to enable it to provide effective resources for all of our members. Your TNZ Board are meeting weekly via on - line Zoom meetings and are enthusiastic about improving Taekwondo in New Zealand for every Taekwondo practitioner.

Once again, congratulations to Jamie on her election result and I look forward to bringing you, our members, more positive outcomes as we move forward together.

Yours Faithfully

GRANDMASTER JIN KEUN OH

President

September 2021 Newsletter

August 2021 Newsletter