1999 ITF WORLD CHAMPS NEWS

FIESTA LATINA

Sat 31st July

Hello everyone!

After a few months of preparation organizing the Team sponsorships, and all administration matters, we are now in a position to inform ITFNZ members about the New Zealand Team who have been selected to represent New Zealand at the XI World Championships, Taekwon-Do ITF to be held in Argentina in August 1999.

The members selected for the Team comprise 13 dedicated sports people plus one Coach and his assistant, and a Team Manager. These members will represent all New Zealand practitioners of the martial art.

The team competing includes 11 men and 2 women. Aged between 18 and 29, 4 live in Auckland, 5 in Wellington, and 4 in Palmerston North.

Our team members have dominated national competition for years. Their achievements include some record-breaking performances. Team members Graham Patterson, Tamaiti Brunning, Ian Walton, Aaron McIlwee, Jon Sawden, Matthew Breen and Jeanette Joe have all been part of previous world championships. Jeanette was also part of the Women's team who bought a medal home at the last Championship.

We are certain that, having been chosen from our top Taekwon-Do practitioners, they will be the sports ambassadors and will represent New Zealand well. We have every reason to believe that!

Now, let me announce the members of the New Zealand Team:

· Carmen Schwager - Team manager. As team manager, Carmen Schwager with years of experience in organising trips to South America, assisting University students on their Study Abroad Programmes, has very kindly accepted the position to help the New Zealand Taekwon-Do Team in Argentina 1999. Since she was born in Peru, she currently has knowledge of the Spanish Language and culture in the Latin American countries, which will assist all aspects of the New Zealand Taekwon-Do Team.

· Andrew Salton - National Coach. Born in England, Andrew Salton brings a wealth of experience to his role as coach of the New Zealand Team. Andrew began his Taekwon-Do training at the age of 14 and currently holds the rank of 4th Dan Black Belt, Instructor. He has instructed and coached Taekwon-Do in many capacities including Regional Teams for National Competitions within New Zealand. He also represented New Zealand 7 times in Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, New Zealand on Television and has competed in Kick Boxing Fights in New Zealand. We can be assured that the New Zealand Taekwon-Do Team will achieve an excellent performance with the Andrew's coaching.

· Lawrence Mantjika - Assistant Manager. Lawrence, former President of ITFNZ, began martial arts training at age of 8 years in Indonesia. Then, he began Taekwon-Do training in 1985 at Massey University Club. He attended the World Camps in Palmerston North, New Zealand and Colorado, USA. He was a member of the New Zealand Taekwon-Do Demonstration Team in 1990. Lawrence represented New Zealand at the 9th and 10th World Championships in Malaysia (1995) and Russia (1997). He was Regional Coach for teams to Nationals between 1995 and 1999. He has 3rd Dan Black Belt and at present he is the Instructor of Palmerston North Taekwon-Do Academy.

NZ Team Members

· GRAHAM PATTERSON, 4th Dan, age 23, Wellington
· JEANETTE JOE, 4th Dan, age 24, Auckland
· MATTHEW BREEN, 3rd Dan, age 21 , Auckland
· JON SAWDEN, 2nd Dan, age 29, Auckland
· TAMAITI BRUNNING, 2nd Dan, age 23, Wellington
· HONG LOOI, 2nd Dan, age 19, Auckland
· AARON MCILWEE, 2nd Dan, age 22, Wellington
· IAN WALTON, 2nd Dan, age 33, Wellington
· RY GOLDSMITH, 1st Dan, age 17, Wellington
· JUSTIN JESSET, 1st Dan, age 23, Palmerston North
· AARON LANGE, 1st Dan, age 20, Levin
· CHRIS FISHER, 1st Dan, age 18 years, Palmerston North
· NIKKI MANTJIKA, 1st Dan, age 22, Palmerston North

The Team training for the championships began in April this year. This is in addition to individual training programs. Regionally, team members are training together on a regular basis. Furthermore, competitors will have the chance to show their skills in demonstrations at the National Tournament on 17th and 18th July 1999. So, they will be showing their skills before travelling to the World Championship.

On June 4, we made an official visit to the Ambassador of Argentina, Mr. Enrique de la Torre, who offered an interesting talk to the Team members and as a gesture of appreciation, Tamaiti Brunning and Aaron McIlwee performed the "haka". The Ambassador was very impressed and expressed his best wishes to all the Team members.

While we were in Wellington on one of the training sessions, the Team performed a demonstration at the University of Victoria, where members of the diplomatic service from the Latin American Embassies attended. We had the honor of The Ambassador of Chile, Mr. Fernando Reyes Matta to be with us at the training and he offered his support to the Team by donating the printing costs of the Raffle Tickets ($800.00).

The Team would like to thank the Embassy of Chile for the support

It is also a great pleasure to announce that Qantas airline has kindly offered us sponsorship on the travel to Argentina and has kindly donated a return airfare to Australia to go on the Raffle. We appreciate Qantas support and our special thanks goes to Ms Ruth McIntyre, Inbound and Interest Manager for her valuable assistance with the travel arrangements.

NEWS FOR TEAM SUPPORTERS

Now, it gives me a great pleasure to invite the ITFNZ members to join us and support the Team in Argentina and take advantage on the special airfares with Qantas. Here are the details:

• Return airfares: Auckland-Buenos Aires-Auckland: $1,350 (+ airport taxes) (normal price is $1,899) Departure date: Sunday 22 August 1999 Arrival date: Tuesday 7 September 1999
• Accommodation: Competitor's Hotel (this hotel will host the competitors, coaches, and team supporters) The price is US$50 per day and include the following: -Accommodation -Breakfast -Transportation

If you are interested in coming along with us, please do not hesitate to contact the Team Manager, Carmen Schwager. She can be contacted at: -Ph: (09) 373-7599 Ext. 7960 (9.00-5.30pm) -Ph: (09) 535-4220 (after 7.00pm) Mobile: 021-858980 or E-mail: c.schwager@auckland.ac.nz

The final date for flight bookings is by Monday 9 August 1999. So, hurry, hurry!

Also, we are organising a great raffle to fund Team members to compete in Argentina and there are many wonderful prizes for the winners including a RETURN AIRFARE to AUSTRALIA (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane) departing from Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch; also you may win a Sony Mini system, TV, Video, Playstation, Breadmaker, Vacuum Cleaner, and many others. The tickets are only $2. So, contact us via Carmen or any of the Team members you see in the list above and give us your support. Many thanks. Details for the raffle: Drawn: 31st July 1999 Results in NZ Herald 5 August 1999 (Winners will be notified individually) Organiser: Carmen Schwager 6 Bernie Edwards Place, Howick

Finally, we would like to invite you to a FIESTA LATINA organised by the NZ Team on Saturday 31 July 1999 in Auckland. We will notify the venue (we are looking for the best deal!) and you can enjoy a "Tango Show" and experience the sensational Latin dance! Keep in touch with us.

ADIOS AMIGOS!

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