1 December 2008 was a red-letter for some of the Assisi Taekwondo Warriors. It was a day they did their parents and for some both their parents and grandparents proud.
The Warriors demonstrated their taekwondo skills at the ‘Christmas at the Assisi Hospice’ and entertained an appreciative crowd.
Among the spectators were Mr Hri Kumar Nair, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, the Guest of Honour, Mdm Ho Ching, Patron of Assisi Hospice and Mr Khoo Chow Huat, CEO of the Hospice. As the Warriors’ parents and grandparents watched the children performed, they could not help but feel a glow of pride seeing what they had achieved.
For the Warriors, they were just having fun showing off their kicking and punching skills. They broke planks using various techniques including the more difficult multiple kicks.
Most of the Warriors were performing for the first time! What’s more, a few of them had less than 6 lessons. Despite that, they managed to entertain the crowd and draw thunderous applause.
The appointment of Liang Seng Sports Equipment Pte Ltd as the official supplier of martial arts equipment to the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) will expire in December 2008.
The STF would like to put on record its thanks to Liang Seng for its support during the term of its appointment.
For the new term of three years from January 2009, the STF would like to invite all martial arts equipment vendors who are interested in becoming the official martial arts equipment supplier of the STF to submit their bid for the Management Committee’s consideration by Monday 22 December 2008.
The bid submission should include the company’s offers and expectations from the offers.
The STF reserves the right to call potential vendors for interview
The results of the Taekwondo Coaching (Level 2) Course will be announced in a week’s time or longer.
It is necessary to delay the announcement of the results because time is required to iron out some administrative issues and moderate the evaluation of the assessors. This is done in the interest of giving the participants a fair assessment of their performance in both the theory and practical tests.
The Singapore Taekwondo Federation will endeavour to release the results as soon as possible.
The selection trials for the 13th Asian Cities Gold Cup Taekwondo Championships and the 25th SEA Games were conducted on 30 November 2008 at 2.00pm at the National Training Centre.
It attracted 32 players from 13 clubs. Most of the Management Committee members, including STF President Milan Kwee, witnessed the selection process.
The selection panel comprising Messrs Steven Soh, RA Jeyaraman and Lee Thiam Poh assessed them based on their performances in competition-styled sparring. Majority of them performed reasonably well resulting in the high number of players being shortlisted.
The selectors categorized them to differentiate the better performers from the rest.
Here are their recommendations.
Male (Senior)
Weight Category
Category A
Category B
Fin
Jason Tan
Benjamin Teo
Fly
Jason Ong
Nicholas Lau
Bantam
Jordan Tay
Goh WeiliangMuthiah
Feather
–
Samuel LeeWoon Yong Chuang
Light
–
Mohammad Hafiq
Welter
–
Patrick Wong
Female (Senior)
Weight Category
Category A
Category B
Fin
–
Ong Tian Ling
Fly
–
Lanetar Quek
Bantam
–
Denise Thong
Feather
–
Michelle Liew
Light
–
Charlotte Tang
Male (Junior)
Weight Category
Category A
Category B
Fin
Keith Ong
–
Fly
Wesley Ong
–
Feather
–
Goh Jun Jie
Light
Jordan Tay
Ianlex NgChristopher Lee
Light Middle
–
Samuel Lee
Female (Junior)
Weight Category
Category A
Category B
Fly
–
Tio Jia Xin
Light
–
Quek Jie Yi
Middle
–
Tessa Tang
Heavy
–
Quek Jie Lin
While players in Category A can be downgraded for failure to fulfill their training requirements, players in Category B will be upgraded if they prove to be committed in their training and show improvements in their performance ability. However, they will only be given the ticket for overseas competition if they are better than the listed Category A players.
All shortlisted players are to report for briefing and training on Wednesday, 3 December 2008 at 7.30pm at the National Training Centre.
The Singapore Taekwondo Federation is organizing a Youth Training Programme with a view of identifying players who have the potential players to represent Singapore in the international competitions including the Youth Olympic Games and launching a Youth Development Programme.
The training is also open to those members who want to join in for the experience. It will be conducted by a panel of coaches headed by Santos Rivas, Head Coach of J H Kim Taekwondo, an affiliate of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) and supervised by Wong Liang Ming, Chairman of the Coaching Committee.
The details of the training are as follows.
Date : 17, 19 & 22 December 2008
Time : 10 am to 1 pm
Place : STF National Training Centre
Blk 80, Lorong Limau
#04-191 Singapore 320080
Eligibility : Red and poom belts from 12 to 16 years old
Fee : $30
Dress Code : ‘Dobok’
Benefits : Specialised training/Free uniform/Discount voucher for sparring
equipment courtesy of Liang Seng Sports Equipment Pte Ltd/
Certificate of Participation
Closing Date : Friday, 12 December 2008
The registration form is attached. If you have any query, please call Jolene, Theresa or Rosalind at 6345 1491.
3 players under the Special Preparation Programme did Singapore proud in the 4th Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships held from 1 to 5 November 2008 in Suwon, Korea. They matched the best in the various categories to ensure that Singapore team did not return empty handed.
The Special Preparation Programme is for players earmarked for the Junior Tournaments. Participants in the programme have to commit themselves to regular training and fulfill the development plan which includes attending overseas training, friendly matches and competitions.
The event which attracted 1,200 competitors from 37 countries saw our players collect 2 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze medals. The medals came from the following.
Poomsae – Wesley Ong (Silver) & Keith Ong (Gold) Sparring – Tessa Tang (Gold)
Gold – Keith Ong (Poomsae – Individual)
Tessa Tang (Sparring)
Sparring – Keith Ong (Silver) Poomsae (Championship Match) – Keith Ong (Silver) & Wesley Ong (Bronze) Sparring (Championship Match) – Tessa Tang (Silver)
Silver – Keith Ong (Sparring) Keith Ong (Poomsae – Championship Match) Wesley Ong (Poomsae – Individual) Tessa Tang (Sparring – Championship Match)
Sparring (Championship Match) – Keith Ong (Bronze) Sparring – Wesley Ong (Bronze) Poomsae – Tessa Tang (Bronze)
Bronze – Keith Ong (Sparring – Championship Match) Wesley Ong (Sparring) Wesley Ong (Poomsae – Championship Match) Tessa Tang (Poomsae – Individual)
After the competition, our players headed to Seoul for a training stint in Yeongdong Middle School. The training was arranged by Prof Lee Kyu Seok who is the Technical Advisor of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation.
Training and Friendly Exchanges at Yeongdong Middle School
At the school, our players had a lot of opportunity to trade kicks and punches with the school’s best players. Needless to say, our players had gained valuable sparring experiences from the exchanges.
Team Manager Ng Lee Noi said: “I am happy with the performances of the team and appreciate the co-operation and support of the coach, players and accompanying official and parents.”
Players and Proud Parents
Singapore Flag Bearers
Team Manager – Ng Lee Noi
Coach – Wong Liang Ming
Team Captain – Lanetar Quek
Players – Jordan Tay
Keith Ong
Wesley Ong
Tessa Tang
Official – Linda Sim
Parents – Mr Dicky Ong
Mrs Katherine Tay
Mrs Janet Ong
‘Mascot’ – Kaylar Ong
‘Mascot’ Kaylar Ong with Keith Ong (left) and Linda Sim (right)
Steven Soh and Lim Teong Chin, both senior technical members of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation, attended the Joint-Technical Meeting organized by the World Taekwondo Federation on 14 November 2008.
The meeting held at the Ramada Seoul Hotel attracted 60 taekwondo experts from over 30 countries. It was primarily to improve the competition rules so that competitions could be more exciting and judgment could be more transparent.
There were animated discussions made on various areas including the reduction of the competition area, the change of the weight categories, the removal of the 12-point ceiling and 7-point gap, the adoption of graduated scoring system and the introduction of instant video replay system.
A few interesting ideas bounced around during the meeting but did not get much support.
Said Lim: “I thought the suggestion by the Iranian delegate to break a tie by declaring the last player to score as the winner was brilliant. It will be less subjective. Furthermore, the disadvantaged player will be compelled to take positive action which can mean more exciting game. Unfortunately, not many people supported it.”
There would be some changes in the competition rules. But would it be for the better? Well, that is something we have to wait until after they have been implemented.
If your ambition is to be a sports presenter, here is your chance to acquire some training and experience.
The Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) is looking for volunteers who want to be presenters for the Youth Olympic Games taekwondo event. Training will be provided by media industry experts.
A camp will be held in December for those who are interested. Please call Jolene, Theresa or Rosalind at 63451491 for registration by the end of this week.
Only STF members who are between 18 and 45 years old can apply.
