You are on page 1of 4

British Taekwondo Dan Promotion Weekend 10th & 11th November 2012

Dear Instructors/Coaches, members, parents Good morning It is again my great pleasure to be able to welcome you to this, the 95th British Taekwondo Dan Promotion Test. I would welcome you to Mansfield Woodhouse and hope you have a most pleasant experience during this weekend. As ever, its a good time to report on the wide range of activities and successes of all the British Taekwondo members. Well what a summer we have had. In this, our 30th anniversary year, to be able to say that we are an Olympic Gold medal winning sport fills me with so much pride. All of our GB team, Martin, Sarah, Lutalo & Jade, as well as the coaches & support staff did us proud, I know we are all immensely proud of them. Our medal winners, Jade & Lutalo, are rightly taking the limelight, though we should never forget the effort that Martin & a certain lady here to my left, Sarah, made. It is fair to say that without Sarah doing what she has done since winning the Junior Worlds in 1998, we would not be where we are today, it is the reason why we have such success in our GB Team along with a world class Academy in Manchester. It is clear that all of our clubs have benefitted with the Olympic success. We have seen a 20% increase in memberships in August & September, a 50% increase in participants at our seminars and today, I am delighted to report that this Dan promotion is the biggest in our history, with 204 candidates, which is 20% up from last year. So instructors, coaches, well done, you have my admiration for the excellent work you do. You will know that we are currently running several competitions where clubs can win equipment from the Olympic Games, as part of the Legacy & Inspire initiatives, so look out for the winners on our website, Facebook & Twitter. Our work with Sport England continues at pace. o Our governance changes continue as we soon appoint 2 Non Executive Directors to the Executive Board o Our Coach Education & Club development programmes are being concluded for roll out within the next few months by Margaret Nolan, who is here today. o Our merchandise is to go on sale through our website very soon. o We have completed the first round of filming for our on line syllabus of pasterns & basics, again through our website.

o We have Cadet & Junior development programmes at the National Academy o We will soon have our Club Presentation Day 3 so as we can engage with our instructors & coaches as to the detail of the progress of the programmes as well as get valuable feedback. Talking of feedback, we have sent out a request to every instructor/coach to complete an online survey about their club structure & how we can best help. So please take the time to complete the survey, it is a very valuable asset for us. o So all in all, we are moving our art & sport at pace, so as to provide more help & assistance to instructors & coaches as well as offering our members content to help them in their personal development. The GB Poomsae team are in final preparations for the World Championships in Columbia. Its a small team but we have high hopes of some improved performances. The Poomsae Committee are providing a continuous cycle of Poomsae Training sessions for every level of competitor, so I would encourage all instructors & coaches to try to get more of their members involved, it certainly helps with their Dan promotion prospects. Our communication is always through email and our website, so instructors/coaches, please ensure your details are up to date through Sophie in our Membership Services Office in Leeds and of course also through Graham Preece. Make sure you are connected to our Facebook & Twitter accounts, you will find information about how to do this on the many leaflets that we have On the international stage, I was with Secretary General Dr Ayer last week in Lausanne, supporting him with WTF matters. To have the opportunity to ensure Great Britains voice is heard at such an influential level is key to our overall aims and ambitions of growth and success of WTF Taekwondo through British Taekwondo. As regards the traditional side of TKD, the British Taekwondo Chief Instructor, Master Lennox, and his team are available to visit clubs to help coaches with preparation for Kup and Dan promotion, as well as breaking and self defence. Please discuss this direct with Master Lennox. With record numbers of people attending our seminars, record numbers of candidates for Dan Promotion and an increasing successful pass rate, the future of our art is very secure & very promising through British Taekwondo.

I would of course like to thank the Parents Committee of Kang Han TKD (Manor) for hosting what I know will be a very successful weekend.

Please make sure you visit the photography stall which is such a perfect way to remember the weekend. We also have the Kicksport stall, which provides a fantastic range of TKD equipment for everyone, with special deals on top quality equipment. They also have a great service for coaches to set up trade accounts, so please visit them. Finally, to the instructors/coaches here today. Remember, you are the National Governing Body for WTF Taekwondo here in Great Britain & you should publicise it as often as you can, as it is a very valuable asset & something that more & more parents are searching for when they want their children to participate in a sport. We are first & foremost a martial art, who has the Olympic sport as part of what we do. We have seen a significant number of other styles join us because they are concluding that only through being a British Taekwondo club can they develop, get educated, have credibility & give their members real opportunity. Also, well done in preparing your students. The grading panel appreciate the hard work you have put into them to get them to a level that will hopefully result in them being rewarded with a Dan Promotion. Thats the reason the Promotion Panel is here today. We know that if we continue to work closely together we can continue to make excellent progress. Thank you. I would now like to introduce not only the grading panel, but also some of the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to help you. 1. Sophie Threlfall from our Membership Services. Always a ready smile & a helping hand, so please try to introduce yourself to Sophie today. The Facebook & Twitter adverts are laid out in the room so please join in. 2. Margaret Nolan, who heads up our Coach Education & Club development programmes. 3. The Dan Promotion panel for today are; a. MATT member, 7th Dan Master Mike McKenzie b. Sec Gen of British Taekwondo & MATT member, 7th Dan Master Neil Guest c. Of course, our grading would not be the same without him, the British Taekwondo Chief Instructor, 7th Dan Master Ian Lennox 4. Finally, it is with great pleasure to be able to introduce to you our very special guest today. She has a long and distinguished TKD career that is worthy of a mention. a. Honorary doctorate from University of Sheffield Hallam b. National Champion 3 times until no one else would fight

c. d. e. f.

Over 10 A class competition Gold medals worldwide European Champion four World Champion twice Olympic bronze medallist

Its very clear that she has devoted her life to WTF Taekwondo, in fact from the age of 7. So please give a very warm welcome to our very own Sarah Stevenson, MBE.

You might also like