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Big Sporting Event To Hit Tauranga

Saturday 19 July 2014, 3:43PM

By dave worsley

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Tauranga will be the scene of some top sporting competition this coming weekend when the 34th ITF Taekwon-Do national championships are hosted in the city, bringing with them aroudn 350 compeitiors and 300 officials and trainers.

 

The New Zealand national ITF Taekwon-Do championships will be held 26-27 July at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Stadium with competitors coming from Northland to as far south as Dunedin. The first national championships was held in Palmerston North in 1981.

 

Ages of competitors range from 7-57 years and from novice to world champions. Some of the past or present world champions taking part include Carl Van Roon, Mark Trotter, Melissa Timperley and Estee Speirs.

 

Many of the New Zealand reps will be aiming to cement their place in the national team for the next world champs in Italy in 2015. Others will be looking for tough competition as they build up to the World Cup in Jamaica in August 2014.

 

Disclipines at the tournament include sparring, power breaking (board breaking), speacial techniques and team events.

 

Based on country medal count, New Zealand finished third at last years world champs in Spain. Prior to the Spanish hosted world champs New Zealand was the champion team at the 2011 tournament held in Wellington.