Firstly a big thank you to all Sponsors and Supporters of the Junior Team, without these people the Junior Team Members would not have been able to attend the World Championships.

 Saturday 19^th August

After checking in, photo’s were taken and a head count, (surprisingly the full 19 were there) we boarded the Korean Airlines flight to Seoul.

 We had a good flight, although most of the Juniors got a little bored as the in-flight movies were spoken in Korean with English subtitles.  A smooth uneventful trip, 12 hours later we arrived in Seoul.

 Sunday 20^th August

We had three hours transit time at the Airport.  The heat had gotten to most within the first half hour, the tracksuit jacket was the first to go, then the domes on the trousers began to be undone as the heat persisted.  The Korean Air flight from Seoul to Beijing was on time and two and a half hours later we landed in China.

 We arrived at the Capital Airport Hotel and to our surprise it was a lot better than expected.  The rooms were air-conditioned which was a welcome relief.  We settled into our rooms and completed our DPR Korean Visa application forms.

 Steve Grant and I waited in the Lobby for the ITF/ DPR Korea Official to arrive and collect our passports and visa applications.  Mr Chul was an extremely helpful man who lived at the Korean Embassy.  Grant Steve and I were more than a little worried about handing our passports and monies to someone we didn’t know and Grant suggested he go with Mr Chul and our passports and wait for the Visa’s to be completed.  As it turned out this was not an option, but Mr Chul promised he would return by 3pm the following day.

 Dinner was a bit of an ordeal with only one menu in the restaurant being written in English.  As none of the waitresses could speak much English, we pointed to what appeared to be something we recognised and hoped for the best.  The portions were quite a bit smaller than we expected, so everyone at the table decided rice would fill us up.  We suggested as Grant had been to China previously that he let the waitress know we would like to order more.  Grant obliged, but the look on the waitresses face as she ordered him to ‘’please sit’ did not bode well and our bill arrived promptly instead, so we presumed it was time to leave (hungry or not)

Training 7am tomorrow morning.

Monday 21^st August

 Steve set his alarm clock and woke us all for training.  Unfortunately he hadn’t adjusted his watch to the correct time and at 6am we were up dressed and ready for training….back to bed for an hour.

Breakfast was included with the hotel room and included all sorts of things we had never seen before, some tasty, some not.  As no one at breakfast spoke any English at all we couldn’t ask what we were about to eat.

 One of the Bell Hops was friendly and organized for US$5.00 per head a bus trip to Tiananmen Square with a guide and the bus trip back.  The Bell Hop traveled with us as our Guide he explained he had spare time after coming off a 24 hour shift.

 We walked slowly through the Square, it was huge and took us around two hours to walk from one side to the other.  Jake and Zahn were major celebrities with large numbers of Chinese wanting photographs with the two tall people.  We finally made it to the other side of the square and walked across the stone bridges into the Forbidden City.  Although the outskirts of the city were pretty, none of us decided to pay the fee to go further inside. The heat and humidity were taking their toll.  Around 35 degrees and 90% humidity.  Something you need to get used to.  McDonalds for lunch.  Once again all written in Chinese so the easiest way to order was to point to a picture and hold out some Yuan.

 Back to the Hotel.  Grant, Steve and I waited for Mr Chul in the Lobby, while the team went outside for a game of touch football.  Mr Chul arrived with our passports and visa’s and a big smile.  He was an extremely friendly helpful man and offered to assist us at the airport the following morning.

 I quickly found out that female’s standing in the Community was not as high as it is here in NZ.  I waited patiently in line to purchase a can of coke, and was even more patient when Chinese people behind me were served first.  Steve’s turn was next and finally me, I asked for a coke handed over the money, the can and the change were returned to Steve standing beside me.  I finally understood what the pecking order was.

 Dinner was a little easier with 16 of the 19 dishes ordered being Sweet & Sour Pork and rice – we had worked this system out – no longer hungry.  Off to bed for an early night.

 Tuesday 22^nd August

Up early for breakfast and onto the bus for our flight to Pyongyang.  We arrived three hours early in plenty of time in case of problems. After a few minor, time consuming disasters including Gemma mis-placing her airline ticket.. Complete confusion reigned at the Koryo Air counter and there was a lot of really irate people milling around. 

We met the Malaysian team standing at the check-in counter.  They were on the next flight an hour after ours.

Mr Chul arrived at the airport and helped us quickly and easily.  We may not have made our flight if he had not been there to help us.

By the time we had checked in and made our way to the departure gate we boarded a rather old plane (complete with seats that folded down, we had to lift the back of the seat up to sit) and finally take-off one hour late.

 It was a surprisingly good one and a half hour flight and then we had finally achieved what I had begun to think was impossible, we landed in Pyongyang DPR Korea. We filed through customs and were met by ITF representatives and our guides Mr Kim and Mrs Lee.  We boarded a bus and waited for some officials to join us and watched as the Malaysian team boarded the bus beside us.  We traveled for around 50 minutes through one of the most beautiful countries I had ever seen.  There was no smog or pollution, it was very green with lots of trees and shrubs everywhere.  The rivers were wide and appeared to be endless.  The buildings we saw were large and uniformly concrete coloured. We saw oxen driven carts and large old tractors towing carts with around 20 people sitting on the back..  The roads were around 6 lanes wide in most places but very few cars or cycles in site.  Even more surprising was at most intersections there was someone directing traffic, this worked in our favour at times being the only vehicle on the road we were waved onward without the need to stop and check on the possibility of other vehicles.

 As our itinerary had changed in the last week prior to traveling we arrived on weigh-in day.  The bus took us directly to weigh-ins.  As we approached the TKD Gymnasium the gasps of appreciation were heard from all.  It is a spectacular building with a solid bronze statue of a TKD practitioner performing a kick on top of a large sphere outside the main entrance half way up the flight of stairs. (it was one of the few buildings painted white.)

 Males and females were separated for weigh-ins .  Amanda was asked if she still wanted to enter as she was 3 kilos lighter than the top of the light-weight division.  She nodded her head and the girls went to check on the boys.  Jake was over weight by 1 ½ kilos.  He was handed two t shirts, a sweatshirt and put his jacket on, already a pinky shade he started jogging on the spot.  With much encouragement from all team members, he started exercising in the heat.  Fifteen minutes later he was on the scales, but still more to lose.  He persevered and so did the rest of the team, exercising the whole time with him. Ten minutes later he was back on the scales, still .4 overweight.  He nodded his head and went to walk away, he could not have kept going and was prepared to admit defeat, when they called him back and allowed Jake to enter.  Victory celebrations consisted of the least amount of clothing possible and lots of water.

 We headed for our Hotel, which again was a spectacular building with three wings 13 stories high (our superstitions don’t exist over there) with a revolving restaurant on the top.  The lobby was all marble and looked impressive.  Into the lifts up to the fourth floor reserved for the NZ Team. 

All meals were included with our accommodation and the team met for dinner at 8pm.  We entered the main dining room and realised quite a few teams were also staying at the hotel (Greece, Argentina, USA, Australia, Japan, Poland & Russia) Half way through dinner we had our first black out.  The power shut down and everyone sat and waited around 15 minutes for it to come back on. One torch was produced and this was pointed towards the ceiling.  (it did little to illuminate the huge dining area) .  We counted ourselves lucky we weren’t in the lift.

 This was our first and last time we ate in the main dining room, we were not sure whether it was our bad table manners or overcrowding but from tomorrow morning on we ate in a smaller dining area off the main dining room.

 The tournament starts tomorrow morning. The opening Ceremony starts at 9am.

 Wednesday 23^rd August

The team was up early to sew their competitors numbers to the back of doboks.  By the time all numbers had been sewn on, breakfast had been and gone. Our Guides/Interpreters met us in the Lobby and ushered us onto the bus.

Speeches started the ceremony spoken in both Korean and English, followed by brass bands and the parade of the competitors from all Countries. The 5^th Junior World Champs flag was raised for the duration of the competition.  More speeches followed, the competitors paraded back out.  The opening ceremony was completed by noon and we all filed back on the bus and back to the hotel for Lunch. 

1pm back onto the bus ready for the start of the tournament.

The inside of the TKD Gym is amazing, it is huge with tiered seating on opposing sides, three rings were set out on the floor below.  The heat inside the stadium at times was unbearable.  There was no air-conditioning or fans to help cool it down.

 Ring three, Mark vs Greece was first up for II Dan patterns.  Win to Mark.

Next up was Thai vs Uzbekistan for I Dan patterns.  Win to Thai.

Next Thai vs China.  After two patterns the judges could not separate Thai and his opponent on pojnts and so a third pattern was called for (Po Eun).  A very close win to China and a great performance from Thai.

Mark Vs Uzbekistan.  Two outstanding patterns from both competitors, a very close win to Uzbekistan.

Gemma Vs Canada for II Dan patterns.  Win to Canada, the Canadian girl eventually coming a very close second in the division.

The afternoon concluded at 6.15pm then back to the hotel for Dinner, at the team talk that night the Coach Mr Kaiou let the team know that he had been advised Marks loss to Uzbekistan had actually been a draw, but there had been insufficient time to protest..

Zahn was not feeling too well and he stayed in bed for the afternoon, by evening he was running a temperature and the effects of a change of diet had started to take place.

Thursday 24^th August

Breakfast, on the bus and at the TKD Gym by 8.45.  Although we are all starting to get used to the heat it is still HOT.

 I Dan Female patterns Amanda vs Czech Republic - win to Czech, but a very good peformance from Amanda (many commented on her power for her size).

 Male Middleweight sparring Richard vs Nepal win to Richard

 Richard vs Greenland win to Greenland

An obvious win to Richard in the first bout.

 Male Lightweight sparring Thai vs USA win to Thai

 Thai vs China win to China

Thai had two amazing fights, the first bout he won convincingly and took a heavy knock in the second bout, (he was seeing stars for a while)

 Male Heavyweight sparring Jake vs Greece win to Jake

                 Jake vs Japan win to Jake

                Jake vs Poland win to Poland

JAKE   -  BRONZE MEDAL

 Team Pattern NZ vs USA win to USA

 Heavy weight Female sparring Toni vs Korea Win to Korea

Toni had a really hard fight ,she was really short compared to her opponent, but those back kicks found their mark every time.

 Middleweight Female sparring Gemma vs Canada win to Canada

Gemma had an awesome fight with Canada.  At the end of the second round it was a draw, so into a one minute third round, still a draw.  The fourth round was flags where the first point won the fight.  The Canadians winning point was dubious. 

 Lightweight sparring Amanda vs Greece.  Amanda drew a MUCH larger opponent and had a real battle in this match.  She showed great spirit and the Greek girl knew she had been in match.  Win to Greece.

Another power failure, and the stadium went into darkness for 2-3 minutes.  We presume the fighters in the ring stopped immediately, but in total darkness we had no idea. The power came back on, and the lights gradually brightened over the next 15 minutes. 

Finished late tonight at 7.30.  Back to the hotel for dinner.

Zahn still in bed and Michael, Richard, Stuart and Lin not feeling too good.  Mark had been leading the Haka but his voice is starting to disappear from yelling.

Team talk and to bed.

Friday 24^th August

Daniel in ring three and Mark in ring one both at the same time. 

Hyperweight male sparring Daniel vs Korea win to Korea

Daniel fought well, at the end of the second round it looked fairly even but Korea got the close win.

Microweight male sparring Mark vs Czech win to Czech

Mark had a bye through the first rounds. He fought very well against the Czech but received twelve warnings which effectively lost him the match. The speed in microweight is amazing to watch.

Team Sparring NZ vs Korea-Japan Taekwon Do.  Andrew Neville sparred frist and lost a close match.  Daniel sparred second and lost another very close match.  Zahn sparred third and after seemingly dominating his opponent the bout was somewhat controversially awarded to the opposition.  NZ loses.

Team Power – New Zealand eliminated after first break.

Individual Power Andrew’s first break was side piercing kick (4 boards).  Andrew gave it a good hit but no boards wanted to crack.  Andrew eliminated as others managed to achieve the break.

Individual Specialty – Zahn’s first break was flying high kick.  He solidly touched the board but unfortunately he delayed his guarding block for a couple of seconds and the attempt was dis-allowed.  This took him out of any more rounds. 

Medal ceremony for Jake was at the end of the day, it was a really proud moment for the Junior Team as Jake entered carrying the NZ flag.  The cheering and clapping for Jake and his Bronze far outweighed the response for Gold and Silver.

Mark’s voice went through a few changes today including some high pitched squeaks until it finally disappeared.  Jake, took over leading the Haka until his voice followed Mark’s and Andrew has now taken over.

Finished tonight at 9pm

Lin not well today and spent the day in bed.  Zahn is still feeling sick and Stuart and Richard still feeling unwell. Amanda feels fine, her diet consists of lollies, water and lemonade, perhaps we could all learn something from her.

Saturday 26^th August

Lin and Zahn still feeling a little unwell.  Most of us by this time had unsettled stomachs. 

The centre ring raises one metre up off the ground for the final placings of 1^st & 2^nd, then lowers back to floor level at completion. (very impressive)

Back to our hotel for lunch and then on to the closing ceremony complete with brass bands, speeches and the parade of competitors ending with the flag being lowered.  Rua & Lin attended the formal dinner for officials and coaches.  Steve and I opted for staying with the team and keeping a watchful eye.  No official party had been organised, so Team USA arranged a disco at the hotels nightclub, with all in the hotel invited.  The NZ juniors started their evening in a hotel room, planning on joining in a little later, their popularity showed when large numbers kept knocking on their door requesting their presence.  The evening ended with groups still partying in the main lobby.

Sunday 27^th August

A sightseeing tour had been organised for a trip up into the mountains, Lin, Rua & Beryl went and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  The rest of our group opted for sleep with most emerging around lunch time.  By this time Stuart was feeling really ill and spent the next couple of days in bed.

Grant wanted a few photos of the hotel and wandered down the road to get the perfect shot.  Unfortunately he forgot to ask a guide to go with him,  through the camera lens he viewed some worried looking hotel staff on the top floor and thought it best to return.  Within 30 minutes of returning to his room, he had a knock on the door and a polite request  not do this again.

Monday 28^th August

Most teams left this morning.  Our guides/interpreters organised a bus for the NZ team to go sightseeing including a photo session outside the TKD gym.

When we arrived at the gym it started to rain, so we requested to go inside.  The team went into the main hall, taking a few shots when to our surprise and delight the Korean Team arrived.  

The opportunity to have photo’s with the Korean team was too good to resist and the two teams mingled smiling.  The Korean & NZ team doing the Haka will remain vividly in the minds of all.  Once outside the photo session completed we had just started boarding the bus when the Czech team arrived, back off the bus a few more photos and we were off to look at the great monuments of Pyongyang.

Tuesday 29^th August

Up early and off to the airport.  1 ½ hours later we landed in Beijing, two hours in transit and another 2 hours onto Seoul. The Seoul Palace Hotel was wonderful, complete luxury.  Air-conditioning & soft beds. For all the junior members Seoul meant shopping, McDonalds Burger King and Pizza Hut, for the senior members it was shopping and relaxation, and for me, Coffee. (something I had missed dreadfully)

30^th, 31^st August

Each day was shopping. Although it appeared everywhere you looked there was a shop, it didn’t take long before we discovered that the shopping below ground was endless and cheaper.  The main problem Beryl encountered on the second day was how to find your way out and above ground again.  For most the experience of riding the subway was new, haggling and bartering could be done but the best deals of all, were made by Thai.

Thursday the rain is persistent and its getting pretty windy

 The weather is getting worse.  The American forces TV station (one of the few in English) has constant warnings about the approaching Typhoon.  It is meant to hit tonight between 6pm and midnight. 

1^st September

The Typhoon has changed course and although it is still raining and windy, it looks like we will still be going home today.

 Toni, Gemma and Joe set out on their last minute shopping spree.  Disappearing below ground, they were questioned by a Security Guard about the purchase of a necklace. It took a few minutes before realising that the person in front of them was probably looking for Thai, who had bought a necklace for his Mother the day before.  After a brief discussion the police turned up and escorted Toni and Joe to the Police station for questioning. Finished with the police, they made their way back to the shops, still being followed by a security guard from the Jewelry store.  He persisted while they shopped, watched while they ate lunch (Joe asked politely if he would like to have a bite) and back to the Hotel, the security guard still following.

 Thai made his way downstairs to talk to the Guard.  Thai had purchased the necklace the previous day for US$33.00.  The shop assistant had made a mistake the necklace should have sold for US$333.00. Unfortunately for Thai and his Mother he had to return the necklace and accept his US$33.00 back.

 3pm and it is time to leave.  A 1 ½ bus trip back to the airport and once again our flight is on time. 

12 hours later we landed in Auckland

JUNIOR TEAM SPONSORS

AND THANKS TO ALL THE SPONSORS for helping the kids achieve their dream. 

Team Announced

More details of the team here (Word file).

Profiles of three of the team members

See what events the team members are entered in

Flight times and dates & Accommodation

Newspaper Article

Yet another 
Newspaper Article