Saturday at the Butler Sports Complex the Annual Tae Kwon-do AAU Gulf District National Qualifier took place. With more than 200 competitors and 20 different clubs competing it was a day packed full of great competition.

There were three different events taking place in the sports complex, Olympic Sparring, Forms, and Point Sparring. Each of these events were broken down into age, rank, and weight to match the competitors. The athletes came from all over Texas and the age range was from 5 years old to 64 years old.

The District Chairman of the Gulf Association, David McCloskey said, “The younger guys are here for the sport aspect and competition and the older guys are here for physical fitness and self discipline. Everyone needs self-discipline and commitment in order to make themselves better. Tae Kwon-do is essential for people to practice; it is an expression of their life, what they put into it is what they get out.”

The Gulf District Qualifier was based on single elimination and the top eight in their age, rank, and weight continued on to Nationals. Nationals will be in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on July 4th and there over 1000 competitors will be competing to get invited to trials for the national team. The National Team coach, Jean Lopez and his two-time Olympic gold medallist brother Steve Lopez were in the audience watching the competition.

Steve Lopez won the gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics. Steve is joined by his younger brother and sister on the national team and is a top contender for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

S. Lopez spoke about Tae Kwon-do, “I started Tae Kwon-do when I was five years old to follow in my brothers footsteps. I love and enjoy doing it and I want to be the best and stay motivated. I put in the time and train two to three times daily, I train with excellence and have an excellent coach.”

McCloskey’s Young Brothers Tae Kwon-do and Leb Kemp’s AKA Sports Academy hosted the National Qualifier. Kemp, who is also the Co-Chairman of the Gulf Association said, “Everything ran smoothly the officials did a great job and everybody worked together.”

Check back with Athlete’s Connection for complete results and who is moving onto Nationals.

Subscribe to this comment's feed