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Recent News

ITFNZ partners with JustGo for New Membership System

4 June 2024

The Board is very pleased to announce it has partnered with JustGo to deliver a new membership system for the Art as a key action under the current Strategic Plan.

Board Chair Sheryl Chase commented “This is probably the most important, fundamental change in the administration of the Art. A key strategic focus is modernising our administration systems and processes.”

JustGo is a British company that has been providing membership management software for over a decade into the business and sports industries. JustGo currently services 100 national sports organisations, representing 63 sports with 2.5m members and over 49,000 affiliated clubs. These include UK Gymnastics, UK Taekwon-Do, and their first New Zealand client, Canoe Racing New Zealand.

Phil Robinson, Commercial Director of JustGo, shared, “International Taekwon-Do Foundation of New Zealand is one of the most forward-thinking, joined up organisations that I've had the pleasure of working with. Their commitment to seamlessly integrating their business ecosystem is truly commendable. With ITFNZ's visionary approach and JustGo's capabilities, I'm confident that JustGo will surpass expectations in improving overall operational efficiency and enhancing the member experience.”

CEO Alex Hayton said “Taekwon-Do has been very fortunate to have had a passionate skilled volunteer like Neil Breen who has built, enhanced, and maintained our in-house ‘Database’ system for nearly 35 years. Neil’s desire to retire has driven the search for a replacement system that will serve the Art into the foreseeable future. The JustGo platform will provide an enhanced, modern user experience for students, instructors, and administrators. There will be efficiencies in processes and administration to all users’ benefit.”

The Board would like to acknowledge the work of the Information Technology Group and others who have contributed to the project to date: Brett Kraiger, David Blackwell, Phil Moore, Shane Rogers, Zharna Welch, Shirley Pygott, and Bob Brown.
A special acknowledgement to the contributions of Simon Lloyd-Evans, Neil Breen, Grand Master Paul McPhail, and CEO Alex Hayton.

Further details on the implementation and roll-out of JustGo will be communicated in the coming months.

Kings Service Medal

3 June 2024

We are proud to announce that Master Ian Campbell has received the KSM for his serives to Fire and Emergency and Taekwon-Do in the 2024 King's Birthday Honours. Our hearty congratulations to Master Campbell.

"Campbell said the two organisations are an important part of his life and he feels honoured his commitment and service has been recognised. He joined both organisations when he was young and says the leadership at each helped mould him into the man he is today. He started Taekwon-Do in 1979 under Willie Lim and trained at Te Awamutu Intermediate School Hall, inspired by family who were also training.

Campbell passed his black belt grading at age 15. He and his brothers and nephew still train and all are black belts. He said it keeps them together.

Campbell began training under Evan Davidson in the 1980s and progressed to become one of just 13 7th Dan masters in New Zealand. Davidson, who is the highest-ranked exponent in New Zealand, handed the club to Campbell in the late 1990s. Campbell said Grandmaster Davidson and Grandmaster Paul McPhail, who head up International Taekwon-Do New Zealand, are inspiring and amazing leaders. He said he tries to follow in their footsteps.

Campbell said Taekwon-Do is a way of life, a martial art, not a sport, and he still trains four times per week and trains his students because that is how he centres himself and gives back to others. “I’m passionate about Taekwon-Do and inspired by my students who go on to achieve their goals,” he said. Two of his students have competed internationally and multiple students have achieved placings at national competitions."

14 May 2024

Sheryl Chase New Board Chair

The ITFNZ Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Sheryl Chase as its new Chair. Sheryl has been a Board member since 2020 and is currently serving her second term on the Board this time around.

Sheryl was previously a Board member from 2010 to 2012. Sheryl led the development of the current International Taekwon- Do Strategy in 2021, alongside the Board and under the leadership of the previous Chair.

Sheryl is a 5th Dan, having trained in Wellington and the Bay of Plenty over the years. Sheryl has run two clubs, taking over as Instructor of the Khandallah Club in 2012, and after ten years there, established a new club in Whakatane in 2022. Both clubs are still thriving under new Instructors – succession planning being a strong element of Sheryl’s approach to running clubs.

Sheryl’s professional background is in Strategy and Policy, having worked for central government in these areas for most of her career. “We are fortunate to have the combination of Sheryl’s professional and Taekwon-Do knowledge and experience to continue the work of the Board” says CEO Alex Hayton.

ITFNZ would like to thank the significant service of outgoing Chair Nick Lourantos. Mr Lourantos has led the Board and the organisation through a period of significant change as the actions under the Strategic Plan are progressed. Mr Lourantos and has built a strong Board and executive leadership team and has led the organisation through some challenging circumstances in recent years, including through the COVID-19 pandemic.

One Legacy

It is with great sadness that we announce the resignation of Grand Master Daher from our parent organisation, ITF, and his decision to establish his own separate organisation.

Grand Master Daher has been a longstanding friend of ITFNZ and has been deeply involved with us since 2002. He has served as a special guest instructor and examiner at many of our events over the years and has been our representative on the ITF Board of Directors. His influence was instrumental in securing the hosting of the ITF World Championships in 2011. Additionally, we have sent numerous teams to Australia to compete in tournaments and participate in seminars, at which he was a wonderful host.

Here are some highlights of our collaboration over the years:

Oceanias 2002

World Camp 2002

General Choi Cup 2003

National Seminar 2003

Masters Downunder 2005

World Cup Sydney 2018

We respect Grand Master Daher's decision and hope to maintain our relationship with him and his new organisation. Although we are no longer part of the same international group, our friendship will endure. We wish him all the best in his exciting venture, and we are confident he will be successful.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us anytime.

Technical Panel Positions

Following a restructuring of our advisory panels, ITFNZ is calling for applications from members who wish to be involved in the future Technical direction of the Art.

We have been fortunate to have had a core leadership group steer Taekwon-Do’s technical development over many years. While many of these leaders will remain involved in the technical development of our Art, the current Technical structure is being opened to allow greater participation of our future leaders.  Our future leaders will engage with and work alongside Grand Masters and Masters, enabling a transfer of technical knowledge and to introduce new ideas to ensure Taekwon-Do remains an attractive proposition for many years to come.

This initiative aims to address some of the key challenges identified in the Strategic Plan – ensuring Capability, Capacity and Sustainability.

75% of our current membership is aged 18 years and under.  We are focused as an organization on growing our future leaders so that the Art of Taekwon-Do thrives into the future.

In the past our Technical Advisory Group has led development across the syllabus and grading requirements, and the requirements instructor and examiner education.  These technical areas are being split across three new advisory panels.

There are opportunities within the following advisory panels:

• Qualifications: develop the technical art content into a teaching and grading syllabus.
• Education: develop, implement, and deliver a co-ordinated programme of education and training for students pursuing different pathways.
• Examiners: develop and administer examiner qualifications and training, examiner appointments, and grading processes.    

Terms of Reference are attached for each Panel outlining how they will operate. These are ‘living’ documents, open to amendment as the new structure develops. A Position Description is provided for each Panel.

The future success of the Art is dependent upon your commitment today.

Please register your interest by email to ceo@itkd.co.nz.  Applications close 10th May 2024. Your email should include an explanation of your interest, the skills and experiences (both in and outside Taekwon-Do) that you can contribute, and what you hope to achieve.

Education Panel Position Description | Education Panel Terms of Reference

Examiner Panel Position Description | Examiner Panel Terms of Reference

Qualifications Panel Position Description | Qualifications Panel Terms of Reference

Annual General Meeting

A huge thanks to Mr Nick Lourantos for his service on the ITFNZ board. Nick joined the board in 2018 and has been chair since 2020. Under his leadership, the organisation has been implementing a transformational Strategic Plan to modernise the governance and administration of the art

Minutes AGM_2024

Announcement: Appointment of New Standards & Discipline Representative

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Mark Davies (3rd dan, Alexandra) has been selected to assume the role of Standards & Discipline Representative for the South Island. Mr. Davies brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise, having been an integral part of the South Island Taekwon-Do community. He started training in Taekwon-Do at Grand Master Paul McPhail's Manurewa Club in April 1986. We extend our sincerest congratulations to Mr. Davies on this well-deserved appointment and wish him every success in his endeavors as he undertakes this important responsibility.

Mr. Davies succeeds Dr. Lorraine Eade, who has diligently served on the committee since 2018. Dr. Eade's extensive tenure has provided invaluable stability to the committee, and her contributions have been instrumental in decision-making processes and negotiations. We express our gratitude to Dr. Eade for her dedication and commitment to ITFNZ throughout the years.

New Database

On Sunday 25th February 2024, Mr. Simon Lloyd-Evans facilitated a workshop for an expanded IT committee, tackling the monumental task of preparing for the development of a new ITKD database. Over the years, the IT committee has been working behind the scenes to future-proof our database system, originally established and maintained by Mr. Neil Breen since 1990.

With Mr. Breen's assistance, the planning workshop meticulously reviewed every major function of our current database, assigning each to categories of MUST-have, SHOULD-have, COULD-have, and WON'T-have. This data will serve as the foundation for the specifications we furnish to potential database solutions.

Remarkably, the committee swiftly covered more than 250 items in under 4 hours—an impressive feat. Beyond anything else, this exercise underscored to all attendees the exceptional nature of our current database system and prompted gratitude towards Mr. Breen for his extensive work over the years.

In attendance at the meeting were: Simon Lloyd-Evans (facilitator), Alex Hayton (CEO), Neil Breen (our current database engineer), Paul McPhail (webmaster), Shirley Pygott (database manager), and IT committee members: Brett Kraiger, Dave Blackwell, Phil Moore and Shane Rogers.

International Women's Day Campaign - March 2024

Dear ITF Members,

I hope this email finds you well. On behalf of the ITF Women’s Committee, we are excited to share with you our first campaign and we would be so honored to have you a part of it. As you may be aware, the International Women’s Day occurs on March 8th. The global campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is “Inspire Inclusion”. Inspiring others to understand and value women’s inclusion and empowering women can only lead to a better organization. This campaign is represented by the symbol of the “heart shape” hand.

This year, the ITF Women’s Committee is committed to inspire inclusion and to celebrate females in Taekwon-Do. Collectively, we would like to forge a more inclusive Taekwon-Do experience for women of all ages worldwide.

As part of this campaign that we will be celebrating the entire month of March, we are strongly encouraging organizations and even Dojangs to celebrate with us by organizing something for Women’s Day. It could be a seminar, a training, a Zoom meet-up or even just a small get-together. We ask that if they decide to post anything on their social media, that they take a picture of the group with the heart-shape hand symbol and tag us and use #InspireInclusion and #ITFWomensCommittee so we can repost on our social media and help us celebrate with them.

We are so grateful for your consideration. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Best regards,
Brigitte Morris
ITF Women's Committee Chairperson

Dear Members

This is to advise that Master Mark Banicevich has resigned his membership of International
Taekwon-Do due to personal reasons, including a desire for more family time.

The Board acknowledges Master Banicevich’s service and contribution to Taekwon-Do over
many years as an instructor, examiner, presenter, and board member, as well as his work at
the ITF board.

Master Banicevich’s Glendowie club will continue to operate. ITFNZ are in discussions
regarding the club’s future operations and will advise members in due course.

Self Defence Seminar

In September 2023 the Nelson ITKD Club were honoured to host Master Ian Campbell – 7th Dan and Mr Simon Mallinson – 6th Dan presenting a TKD Self Defence Seminar.

The content of the course was based on the ITFNZ self-defence syllabus and handbook and focused on TKD technique being used in practical self-defence situations.

The seminar was presented with excellent and simple but thorough explanation and demonstration of the practical application of basic Tul moves in self-defence. Using techniques and combinations from Tul to show examples of what can be learned and natural responses to many situations from the patterns we practice.

Other parts of the seminar were Dallyon, Knife/Stick defence and ground techniques for our Black belt and red tip participants.

Due to the mature of some of the attacks, and subsequent responses to those attacks, the decision was made early that the seminar would be for senior belt students and/or late teens to adults.

The experience and knowledge of Master Campbell and Mr Mallinson was impressive, and they were able to present it in a way that was easy to understand, comprehend, and translate into action. The parts of the seminar where discretion, control, and reflection of the serious nature of the lessons being taught were clearly explained and professionally dealt with. e.g., ‘what is not appropriate to be demonstrating or doing outside of our club environ, or with friends at school etc.

Master Campbell and Mr Mallinson gave their knowledge freely, and it must be said that it is hard to thank them enough for the considerable amount of their own time they had clearly taken to prepare the seminar, and to travel and present such an excellent course in our region.

I would definitely recommend this seminar to any other club or region that would like to improve the skill and understanding of what self defence can be or may need to be. As Master Campbell told us, this is barely scratching the surface of how we can practically use TKD to protect or defend ourselves, so maybe that means we will have another seminar in the future.

Thanks also to Grand Master McPhail for approving and supporting the proposal we put forward to host the event in Nelson.

Mr Kelvin Vercoe and the Nelson ITKD Club

ITF Congress 2023

4th General Assembly of the ITF in Switzerland, held in Tampere, Finland on 5th September 2023 with 57 countries represented with 127 votes.

Results of the elections

Closed list for executive committee: GM Paul Weiler (Germany), GM Clint Norman (Canada), Master Oros Duek (Israel) and Master Annick van Driessche (Belgium).

Members at large elected: Master Philip Lear (England) 91 votes, Dr Martina Lenhardtova (Slovakia) 88 votes, Mr Cosmin Oprescu (Romania) 71 votes, Master Gato-Gato (Puerto Rico) 67 votes, Mark Banicevich (New Zealand) 66 votes.

Upcoming events:
2024 World Cup - Argentina (previously confirmed)
2025 World Champs - Croatia (confirmed)
2026 World Cup - Ireland (previously confirmed)
2027 World Champs - Paraguay (only candidate do far)

Establishment of a Youth Council

The current Strategic Plan aims to modernise our organisation and to ensure it is fit-for-purpose for
the future. It aims to build a beter, student-centred experience for all our members with the goal of
retaining more students and providing for succession planning. READ MORE....

Youth Council Advert

New Appointments Welcome to Mr Alan Miller - new RD for Central region. We also have new Regional Directors for Auckland North, Midlands and Wellington. Auckland North is a combined effort of Matt & Lisa Davey, Midlands is Gemma Eastwood and Wellington welcomes Anika Koziarski into the role. Thanks to Michelle Cagney for her excellent tenure as Auckland North RD since 2017, Mr Mark Pettit for his valuable time as the Midlands RD of nearly four years, and Mr Craig Hannah for his legendary time as the Wellington RD for over a decade.	Matt & Lisa Davey
	Alan Miller	Gemma Eastwood	Anika Koziarski
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Carmen Yip (3rd dan) as the new Standards & Discipline representative for Counties Manukau. And a huge thank you to Ms Fran Marshall so is stepping down after many years in the position. We appreciate all Ms Marshall did for counties and wish her well now that she is living in Taupo. Good luck to Ms Yip in her new position.
And congratulations to two new Club Examiners just appointed in the South Island: Ms Helen Cayley Mr Kris Herbison

Green Belt Handbook is coming...

Starring: James Carver, Sophie Carver, Makai Holroyd, Connor Mitchell, Sean Neary, Jaya Rees and Colden Sapir.

Yellow Belt Handbook Behind the Scenes

 

Some behind the scenes images and videos of the Yellow Belt Handbook production. Handbook by GM Paul McPhail and Master Mark Banicevich.

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ITF Anti-Doping Course

Brendan Doogan

On Sunday 27th of March 2022 I got up at midnight to attend a never-before held online seminar about anti-doping in the ITF. The course was short, 1230-0130 NZT, but packed in a lot of valuable information for National Associations, Coaches and Athletes. It was followed shortly afterward the same day by a Spanish language version.

The seminar was presented by the ITF Medical and Anti-Doping Committee which has the distinction of being comprised of 60% women; Sabums, Masters and doctors.

The presentation covered six areas:

1. A new WADA anti-doping “Code”
2. Prescription medications
3. TUEs (exemptions for medications)
4. Risks associated with supplements
5. Drug testing procedure
6. Education

The World Anti Doping Agency publishes a “Code”, a core document that harmonizes anti-doping policies, rules and regulations. This has been updated, and it is a good idea for High Performance managers, coaches and athletes to be familiar with it. Not knowing something could cost the athlete dearly as we’ll see below.

Prescription medicines vary from country to country, so competitors should check the Code and ingredients very carefully before starting a course of medication. For instance pseudoephedrine is “Prohibited when its concentration in urine is greater than 150 micrograms per millilitre”. Medicines that can contain pseudoephedrine in some places include Neurofen and Lemsip, but in other places those products don’t contain it.

Another example is Vicks – the version sold in the USA is prohibited.

Competitors can get what’s called a TUE – Therapeutic Use Exemption – by applying to the national anti-doping organisation (Drug Free Sport New Zealand for example), or the ITF Anti-Doping Committee. The TUE application needs to be signed by the prescribing doctor, so if an athlete needs a medication they should be proactive and start this process sooner rather than later.

The supplements industry is unregulated – there’s no guarantee of what’s in a supplement, nor if it’s proven to work. The ITF recommends against sports supplements and supports correct diet in a “Food First” approach.

A 2015 study in the Netherlands found 38% of sports supplements tested positive for banned substances.

The ITF Anti-Doping Committee advises competitors to bring a double supply of what you need, so that you don’t need to take a chance on it being available and having the same ingredients in other countries. Check also that what you’re carrying is legal in every country you pass through, whether you stay there or not.

The penalty for a positive drug test is a four year ban. This means you can’t compete in any WADA sanctioned sport, anywhere in the world. You can’t switch teams or sports, you can’t even enter a dojang. You cannot coach, umpire or compete whatsoever for four years in what is likely to be the prime of your competitive life.

Check the Code and familiarise yourself with your rights and responsibilities as a coach or athlete.

Testing can be conducted in or outside tournament hours, including while at accommodation or training sessions. You can take a support person with you, and the test must be done in a reasonable timeframe, allowing for medal awarding and time to generate more urine if you’ve just been to the toilet.

The ITF has usually tested medal winners, and may extend testing to junior dans (under 18’s) from the next World Championships.

In terms of education, knowledge keeps us safe, just like in the gym and on the mats. Everyone should consult the Code, and can earn a certificate of completion at adel.wada-ama.org/learn. The certificate is valid for two years and both coaches and competitors can use it to learn about anti-doping.

Coaching staff and others can also learn what to look for in athletes who might be doping: unusual changes in performance, fitness, muscle mass etc, and unusual medication use. However most doping in ITF competition has so far been inadvertent, where the athlete has taken sports supplements, and through ignorance of the rules.

Finally, the Committee suggests that larger countries appoint an anti-doping official to liaise with WADA and the Medical and Anti-Doping Committee to streamline information flow and applications.

I very much enjoyed the presentation and am impressed with the professionalism, science and knowledge disseminated. My only requests are for further seminars and more time for taking questions from the audience.

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Sad News

18 April 2022

Very sad to share the news of the passing of Grandmaster Pablo Trajtenberg.

Many New Zealanders were lucky to attend multiple IIC’s and grade under GM Trajtenberg. He was a true example of servant leadership - kind, humble, helpful and open. Condolences to his family and friends everywhere.

 

Child Protection Officer

 The ITFNZ Board are pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Kettings as Child Protection Officer.

Nicole brings a wealth of Taekwon-do knowledge, as an II Dan and instructor at the Jikida club in Dunedin and her expertise as a Senior Social Worker with Oranga Tamariki.

Nicole is interested in supporting the organisation being a haven for our tamariki and rangatahi, and “support our instructors safely respond to any perceived risk or concern and strengthen their confidence to support children and young people in their clubs”.

Taekwon-Do has undergone a significant demographic change in the past decade. Juniors have moved from 5% to 50% of membership and combined with youth members account for 70%. Taekwon-Do has a responsibility to promote the wellbeing of children and young people and consider how they can prevent any risk of harm to children and young people and respond appropriately.

Nicole will work alongside and support the Standards & Discipline Advisory members.

Kane Raukura, who has championed the Child Protection Policy’s implementation says, “the organisation is very fortunate to have someone of Nicole’s calibre and passion volunteer their time and service to support the art of Taekwon-Do”.

Nicole’s contact details are:
Email: cpo@itkd.co.nz
Mobile: (027) 313 0815

Please welcome Nicole into her role.

Regards

Alex Hayton
CEO

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Stand up for kids

Stand Up for Kids March 2022 ITKD Membership Info

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