NZ Kukkiwon Cup 2025: Thank you to everyone for a successful 2025 Cup

The TNZ Board would like to congratulate and thank all those in our community who attended the 2025 NZ Kukkiwon Cup.

With 547 entries across the tournament (Poomsae and Kyorugi), it was heartening to see so many athletes stepping onto the mats to test themselves and all the hard work they had put in leading up to this event.

A special highlight was seeing the growth in Poomsae competition with 5 rings operating and finishing on time.

We would like to thank the Technical Delegate Master Garry Carpenter, Tournament Director Alan Brian, Poomsae Competition Director Sophia Haynes and Kyorugi Competition Director Aaron Dean, for all your hard work leading up to and on the day of the NZ Kukkiwon Cup.

Like all events, this was a team effort and there is a special thanks to all the Poomsae and Kyorugi Referees, Officials and helpers who kept the day running over the 15 hours of competition. Without your support, there would be no tournament for our athletes and your time and dedication are always appreciated.

In particular, we would like to acknowledge and thank those officials who travelled from Australia to support this tournament. Special mention to GM Bradley Tatnell, Master Shirly Shieh and Master Steph Bennett from Sun Bae Korean Martial Arts for all your support and expertise in the Poomsae workshop held on Sunday. As Kiwis, we always love the competitive rivalry with our Aussie cousins, but even more, we value your support.

A special thanks and shout out to Christchurch Olympic Taekwondo for all your support and for hosting this year’s NZ Kukkiwon Cup.

Please take the time to scroll through the photos. Thank you Rosemary Minto for all the fantastic images. A big thank you to Georgia Shen for sending through pictures on the day of the competition to share with you all. More images have been posted to our Facebook page.

Finally a massive congratulations to all the coaches and athletes - please keep the momentum going. We can’t wait to see you on the mats again at the next tournament.

Yours faithfully,

Grandmaster Jin Keun Oh

TNZ President