ITFNZ National Awards 2003 Nominees

Paul M Taekwon-Do Dan Student of the Year

Jarrad Ramsay

The ultimate goal for Jarrad this year was to become a member of the ITFNZ team to compete at the World Championships in Poland. This he achieved and as I pen this short summary he is currently in Poland facing his biggest challenge, to bring home a gold medal.

Training has not always been easy for Jarrad, as he has had to juggle this between his commitments with the New Zealand Army. Jarrad has been posted to various parts of the country in the last 12 months but has persevered with his training, sometimes on his own and at other times in club.

Jarrad is always willing to impart his knowledge to others and regularly instructs in the club. Jarrad’s favorite is taking the warm up where I’m sure he enjoys inflicting on others what is inflicted on him in the army. You can guarantee that if Jarrad takes a warm up you will be in for a good workout.

Jarrad is an excellent ambassador for Taekwon-Do and a skilled exponent. He is a very good instructor, given the opportunity and is very methodical in his instructing. Anyone competing against Jarrad in the ring will need to be on their guard as Jarrad is very skilled at ring craft and is very competitive.

Jarrad is a student who earns respect from his peers by the example he sets. When asked to assist in club he is only too willing and has a patient manner when instructing. Jarrad sets his own personal goals and will not let anything or anyone dissuade him from achieving them.

Carl Matthews

Arranged for the funding applications for the New Zealand Team to be centralized through him. Raised money for many members of the New Zealand team from Auckland North to Wellington. Took the reins of the Marketing SubCommittee to allow them an extra 8 weeks to find a chair. Arranged for the World Champs Breaker Boards to be delivered to NZ. Helped raise funds for Junior Members traveling to Puerto Rico. Markets the Auckland North Region and Nibun ITF. Greets all new students to Nibun ITF Central and Grammar clubs.

John Matsuoka

Mr Matsuoka is a legend in both of the Auckland Regions.

He recently attended two Counties Manukau gradings as a Marshall. Although he is an Auckland North member, and was a Marshall for his own Regional grading, he had heard that Marshalls in CM were in short supply so he “answered the call.”

For the CM Regional Tournament this year Mr Matsuoka transported the AN mats to Pukekohe (an hour away) and then stayed to officiate.
Within his own region he is very active. He was the Manager for the team to the Hamilton Nationals last year.

For his 2nd Dan grading this year he showed the younger gradees the meaning of both “Perseverance” and “Indomitable Spirit” when he injured his knee during sparring on the first morning, finished the fitness run in the afternoon, completed all the grading requirements on the second day - and gained an A pass. Not a bad record for someone in their 50s.

Mr Matsuoka is always there when needed, often working unnoticed behind the scenes, and is an institution for AN teams to the Nationals, providing packed lunches for every team member so the team can spend time together during the lunch breaks.

Rob Severne

In this submission I will give a short history and list the reasons as to why I feel Mr. Severne should receive this award.

In 1995 Rob Severne was a yellow belt and I was the senior member of the Te Awamutu TKD club.

We were also both prison officers working at Waikeria prison. Rob approached me one day and asked me to instruct a club at Waikeria, as he knew of many people interested in TKD. I discussed this with my Instructor, Mr. Davidson and it was decided that another club in our Region could only benefit TKD.
So the Waikeria Hawks were born and Rob automatically became senior member of the club.

Over the first 5 years, Rob as senior member assisted the club in every way possible. He helped in fund raising, organized the students and families when we hosted grading and instructed the class when I wasn’t able. In 2001 I was sent by work to East Timor for 6 months and I left the club in Rob’s hands while I was away. During that time Rob keep the club going through 2 kup grading, black belt grading, not to mention instructing the class twice a week.

Nine months after returning from Timor, I had an accident, which has left me disabled. Rob came to me in the hospital and told me not to worry about the club, that he would take care of it until I was able to take over again. It has now been 18 months since the accident Rob is still instructing the Waikeria club.
Rob never has made a decision involving the welfare of the club or the students, without asking my advice or approval, only if for any other reason, than to keep me involved in TKD.

I can ensure you that if it had not been for Rob I would not be involved in TKD now. He has kept my interest up through out my recovery by ensuring me that the club stills need me, and that one day I will have to go back as the instructor.

My submission is for Rob Severne to receive the Dan award or a special recognition, for his loyalty to ITFNZ, his commitment to his club and it’s students and his unfailing support and inspiration to his Instructor, club students and the art of Taekwon-Do.
In my opinion with students like Rob, that practices on a daily basis the tenants of Taekwon-Do, all students can see that the Tenants are not merely words in a book or something their instructor tells them they need to know to pass a grade.

Richard Burr

Richard supported the members of his Cloverlea Club through the dismissal of the head instructor, he was the most senior member of the club at the time and was about to assume as head instructor while still being a coloured belt.

Richard has impressed me by his consistent dedication he shows to Taewkwon-Do in our club, region and country.

As an instructor I fell confident I can call for his assistance, he is always willing to lend a hand and giving advice on organising club & regional activities.
He is always ready to share new ideas and offers himself in assisting or organising gradings, demonstrations, social events, seminars and camps. He has trained at many clubs and strives to improve his techniques and knowledge.

Richard has two children who train and as a parent he is there every step of the way, one of his greatest moments was when he & his son achieved their black belts together. Also a great thankyou to his wife for her love & understanding of Taekwon-Do.

WebWorld Gup Student of the Year

The de Koster family:
Ken, Michelle, Nadia and Sonja.

The de Koster family have been training for about 2 1/2 years. Initially it was Sonja who was interested in Taekwon-Do after seeing an article in the local paper. Because the family live 1 1/2 hours drive from Greymouth there is a lot of time and cost involved in getting to training sessions. They travel once per week to train and on school holidays they usually come to training twice a week. The overall mileage would be approximately 12 thousand kilometres per year. The past year they have been fully prepared and passed all their gradings, attended a sparring seminar in Christchurch, competed in the Regionals, attended techniques seminars, currently due to attend a judges seminar, have helped a great deal with club fundraising, help at training with the junior students, take warm-ups in training. Also they have attended other seminars held in Greymouth with Mr Graham Patterson, and Stripes on tour. They also train at home the same time as we train in Greymouth during the week.

They make sure they are doing 2 trainings a week like everyone else. They even train over the Christmas holidays. They have every Taekwon-Do book or video they can get their hands on. The de Koster family have an outstanding passion for Taekwon-Do and their goal is to get their Black Belts plus Nadia and Sonja intend to compete in the Junior World Champs.

List of achievements in the past year:

· Stripes on tour, last year
· Attended a Seminar with Graham Patterson.
· Prepared and passed all gradings
· Attended techniques seminar with Mr Patterson.
· Sparring seminar in Christchurch
· Regionals in Nelson
· Help with fundraising.
· Umpires seminar
· Helping at club
· Travelling 3 hours for training per week...Sometimes twice that.

Alfreed Saboonchi

In the few years that we have known Mr Saboonchi, one of the things that stands out is his personality. He is always enthusiastic and keen to learn new things. He is regarded as an excellent role model to young and old, and he is a good practitioner.

Mr Saboonchi follows the old philosophy “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” His pleasant attitude and smile always deserves one back. He is one of the most courteous people you could ever come across.

Alfreed is a very honest gentleman who displays great eagerness to train. He is not afraid to approach someone if he is unsure of his technique or if he does not understand.
He shows the ability to focus and has the patience to achieve specific goals he has set for himself in Taekwon-Do.

Alfreed shows tremendous self control, both physically and mentally, in the dojang and in his personal life.

Alfreed is a courageous person who has been able to overcome an accident which had physically disabled him.

We see Mr Saboonchi’s dedication to the art at the extra trainings, seminars and gradings within the Counties Manukau Region. His performance at last year’s Mationals in Hamilton was an example of his passion for the sport.

Mr Bhana is very fortunate to have such a great student and member.

Levi Carthew

Levi Carthew joined ITFNZ June 2002. He has achieved two (A - passes) each grading since starting, at his last grading obtained an (unrequested Double grade) to sixth Gup. Levi has attended all tournaments within Auckland I North region and also Counties I Manukau Region U18’s, constantly achieving second place in sparring. Levi has now been selected by head coach Mr Duncan head to represent the Auckland I North Region at the Nationals in Dunedin. We wish Levi all the best as he pursues Taekwon Do (ITFNZ).

Nibun ITF Junior Student of the Year

Nicole Kettings

Nicole Kettings has had an awesome year. She has shown throughout this time a great ability to be a courteous member of the club, often leading the way in demonstrating how things should be. As a teenager this is an incredible achievement and in today’s world not an easy thing for someone who has only just turned 15.

While training to go to Puerto Rico she displayed great integrity. She worked hard to improve her skills and did not want to just coast along. Doubts would occasionally settle in as other practitioners questioned whether or not she was up to the challenge, but she stayed honest with herself and used the criticism to try and improve both her physical training and personal outlook.

Other senior Black Belts in the area were busy with their own goals and it was sometimes a challenge on its own to seek out advice on TKD skills, but she persevered training 5-6 times a week. Funding was becoming an issue and putting extra stress in place as well, but nothing stopped the training.

This was in many ways a roller coaster ride for someone so young but through it all she maintained self-control in many aspects of her life that allowed her to reach her objectives. Friends took second place in this uphill battle to be a part of a team that was so far away.

Nicole’s Indomitable spirit through the last year with several trips to the North island for training and then finally to travel to Puerto Rico as a 14 year old was an incredible achievement and one that was done mostly on her own. (I am sure she would of course acknowledge her sister and mother for their work in raising money for the trips.)
In my eyes, as her father and instructor she has shown all the qualities of a TKD practitioner. It is even more incredible that even now she carries on, still training 4 5 times a week and still showing these qualities above. For the Dunedin Club and region she is a great asset as she continues to develop in Taekwon-Do. I believe that time tells you who the ones are that are only in it for themselves and who the ones are that will be of benefit for all and I believe that Nicole has shown this year that she is there to improve herself so that others will benefit as well.

Cara Harrison

Cara Harrison intends to be an Instructor in a few years. She is a well respected umpire, often seen judging and/or refereeing at tournaments. She is the Assistant Instructor for Wairua-Do. Cara stood in for the Wairua-Do Instructor at a recent grading, sitting up the front with other Instructors and calling her students up for their few minutes of scrutiny, later receiving the results from the Examiner.

Why is this so special?
Cara has been very active within the region for a number of years - and she is just 14!

Thomas Pygott

Thomas has been training in TKD since he was 5yrs old.

This year he has had a huge turn around in his attitude towards training. He is very self motivated now. He is trying really hard to improve himself in areas that previously he didn't enjoy. He gained is 1st Gup this year and is motivated to get his Blackbelt. He has entered all the U18's so far and received medals. He has entered the Regionals and has been selected for Auckland Norths Nationals Team. Note Thomas has been entring tournaments and representing the Auckland and Auckland North for a number of years now. While he doesn't always get medal placings he is always re-entering and participating and trying to improve himself.

Thomas has taken the initiative to help out his mother at Training from time to time, during a time when his mum, Shirley Pygott, was unable to take training due to an operation.

I am proud to nominate my son.

Epson New Zealand Instructor of the Year

Kris Herbison

This is the fourth year that the Otago University club has been running, and it remains one of the most active martial arts clubs affiliated to the Otago University Student’s Association. It is still one of the biggest clubs on campus despite the fact that there are 14 other martial arts clubs that are competing for new members. There are currently 39 members registered to the club, most of these still training regularly. He also instructs students from the School of Physical Education as part of their degree.

Kris calls upon his students to push their limits and achieve their full potential in Taekwon-Do, however still maintaining a friendly relaxed atmosphere in class. Students in his club are hard working and helpful, and appreciate the importance of discipline in and outside of training sessions. Kris’ student’s achievements are a testament to his hard work and ability as an instructor. The University Club took out the best club award at the South Island Regional tournament, as well as Best Men’s and Women’s Teams and Best Black, Red, Blue and Green Belts.

University club puts forward many people to grade at each grading and the club has a very good pass rate at gradings, achieving an impressive rate of A- passes at the gradings last year. In the history of the club every candidate put forward for grading has been successful. At the second gup grading last year the club achieved the best club in the country with 15 A-passes.

Kris’ roles on the Tournaments and Marketing sub committees has meant that many of his students are encouraged to participate in activities beyond training, such as officiating. The club itself has a formally run committee that deals with fundraising, promotion, managing, running and instruction of the club. Students are asked to present any suggestions or feedback they may have about training to Kris or one of the committee.

Mr Herbison has been actively involved in every aspect of Taekwon-Do, and in ITFNZ. He is highly respected in the SI region for his knowledge in instructing, funding, organisational skills and proficient abilities in the art itself. He is looked to by his club and many other students in the region for his great knowledge of Taekwon-Do theory; he encourages all those that he instructs to become knowledgeable not just in the physical aspects of the art, but the mental training also.

Kris is a fine example of the tenets of Taekwon-Do, and a role model for many in the region. He is greatly respected by his students and the Dunedin Taekwon-Do community, and he in turn is always courteous and respectful of all those who he trains and works with. He is always honest and open in the way he runs his club and carries out his roles on the tournaments and marketing subcommittees. He has tackled all problems that have met him in the setting up and running of his club, managing to maintain a club that follows every single recommendation of ITFNZ whilst still being incorporated into the University Clubs and Societies. Kris has been incredibly busy with the running of his club and his involvement helping in running the Region, yet still seeks to keep improving his own technique and fitness, holding extra trainings during the weekend that anybody can attend. He leads through example by his conduct at tournaments and training, always quite calm and the picture of self-control.

Mr Herbison’s unwavering dedication his students, his perpetual hard work for his club and his own personal drive to be a top Taekwon-Do practitioner make him an excellent example to all and a fine instructor who has a great future in Taekwon-Do. It is for these reasons that we nominate him for the ITFNZ Instructor of the Year Award for 2002.

George Konia

Mr Konia has only been with ITFNZ for a year. In that time he has made himself an invaluable asset to his own AN region as well as the neighbouring CM region. Not one to do things by halves, Mr Konia attends most events within the two regions and has organised the Auckland Instructors’ course for this year.

His set of tournament mats travels from Whangarei to Auckland on a regular basis (not a short trip!) He organises for both himself and his members to help out as officials and he has his students well organised so that entry forms for any events are correctly filled out and in on time. For a club that had no previous tournament experience his students have amassed a large number of trophies in a very short time. (He leads by example - entering tournaments himself!)

Mr Konia’s A pass to 2nd Dan is an inspiration to members half his age and a tribute to the untold hours he has spent “fine tuning” his techniques. His students are benefitting from this attention to detail as shown by the fact that his Hurupaki club was Best Club with the highest points at the recent grading round (with TWO unrequested double gradings!) and that for BOTH the September and the November 2002 grading round Hurupaki put the most students forward to grade.

His club is one of the five largest clubs within ITFNZ and through his efforts there are now two new ITFNZ clubs in the Whangarei region.

All this within twelve months!

Kim Bull

A new club to the midlands region with a truly inspirational instructor.
As a 1st Dan isolated in Gisborne Kim showed courage and sheer determination to share ITF TKD with the local community he started his RTR ITF Gisborne Club in November 2001. Through word of mouth Kim’s club has grown tremendously.

Every training potential member watches impressed and learn a great deal of respect not only for the ability and technique shown by Kim and his members.

Kim’s obvious affinity with children has transferred to an ability to encourage and inspire our youngest members to excel. Reflected both in their grading results, ITF tournaments and perhaps even more powerfully, in their home and school lives. They can see Kim’s inner strength and perseverance in achieving and seeing him travel as a member of our New Zealand team to Poland has inspired all club members. Seeing children’s potential and knowing they are the future of ITFNZ he has funded many things from his own pocket. Kim offers extra training sessions to any who are keen. He is an exceptional role model for our future of ITFNZ.

Kim has been able to gain the respect of his peers and elders with the fine balance of also achieving friendship and loyalty resulting in a very strong and committed adult contingency. Male & Female feature in equal numbers. With impressive and sometimes seriously tested self control (& lots of press-ups) Kim shows the ability to draw out the strengths and build confidence in both sex’s by helping each individual overcome any insecurities or self-doubt they may have, this has resulted in a strong club with a huge amount of spirit, loyalty and commitment. This was demonstrated at a recent tournament, which earned Kim’s club the team spirit trophy.

With Kim’s history of achievements locally, nationally and internationally the Gisborne district is justifiably proud. The Gisborne Herald newspaper often features Kim and his club in a very positive light. Kim is an excellent ambassador for ITFNZ he is a living example of what we would like to see more of in New Zealand, he has the character and the indomitable spirit required to earn him recognition of The Instructor of the Year.

Martial Arts Apparel Club of the Year

Otago University ITF Taekwon-Do Club

The Otago University ITF club has been running only four years, however in this time it has been established as one of the most prominent martial arts clubs on campus, and a force to be reckoned with at Tournaments. The club has to deal with a high turnover of students, as people complete their degrees at the University, often in three years, and then leave Dunedin and join clubs elsewhere. Despite this, numbers at the club remain high, even though there are many other martial arts clubs on campus competing for the new members.

University club puts forward many people to grade at each grading and the club has a very good pass rate at gradings, achieving an impressive rate of A-passes at the gradings last year. In the history of the club every candidate put forward for grading has been successful. At the second gup grading last year the club achieved the best club in the country with 15 A- passes. Also Glenn Goldsmith achieved a Pass with Distinction to his II Dan as well as Kris Herbison achieving an A-Pass to his III Dan last year.

This year University Club has excelled in Tournaments. The first tournament of the year was the first of the Otago Area Interclub Tournament Series between the Mosgiel, Dunedin and Otago Clubs. These are always fun but still competitive, and Otago gained enough points to be leading the series. They also won best club at the 2003 South Island Regional Tournament along with best overall Black, Red, Blue, and Green belts and Best Men’s and Women’s Teams. Last year the Club had a large amount of people chosen as part of the South Island team to travel to Hamilton. Members performed well, especially Jonathon Wong was named the Best Overall Green Belt. Members of the club were not only keen competitors but willing and competent officials, contributing their time even if they are already busy with their own events.

The club is affiliated not only to ITFNZ but also the University of Otago. This means that there are a number of regulations that the club has to abide by that perhaps other TKD clubs do not, making the administration of the club at times quite difficult. However the President of the club, Kris Herbison who also serves as Instructor, runs an organised committee to deal with different aspects of club administration.

University Club trainings are fun but still demanding, and all students appreciate the relaxed but determined atmosphere set by the Instructor and black belts. The relaxed attitude in the club allows friendships to be carried beyond the do-jang, and members of the club will often join together for many occasions be it dinner, barbeques, quiz nights, or the obligatory Jackie Chan/Bruce Lee/Jet Li movie fest.

The club as a whole are excellent examples of all of the tenets of Taekwon-Do, with friendly but disciplined air to all their trainings. The seniors are all friendly and knowledgeable, and very approachable. All members from juniors through seniors are prepared to help out with any tasks that need doing, be it sweeping the hall before training, to helping plan and run a Regional Tournament. The club has worked incredibly hard over the last year in all aspects of the art, and they are respected and looked up to in the region for their dedication to Taekwon-Do.

Tribal

For a relatively a new club, Tribal are very active within the region. Their members are always among the first to volunteer for any tasks needing to be done. They fundraised to cover the CM shortfall for the team jackets in 2002, raising $1000 through their club efforts. Tribal members are the people who distribute TKD Talks to the membership. All this even though the vast majority of Tribal members are still at school. Because of the young age of club members, Mr Iotua organises fun-filled weekend camps for club members before gradings so that students can “live and breathe TKD”, practise techniques and learn their theory.

Tribal is a “family” with club members caring for and looking out for each other. The example is set by the Instructor, Mr Richard Iotua, and his partner, Natasha. The club end of year prize-giving shows the tenets of Taekwon-Do being valued, with certificates presented to students best demonstrating each tenet - both within and outside the dojang.

Hurupaki club

What an enthusiastic bunch of people to have worked so hard to come up to ITFNZ standards in the last twelve months. Have enjoyed everything ITFNZ has to offer and have molded themselves to fit into the foundation like we have always been apart of ITFNZ. Achievements have been1 the first two grading (The biggest club grading September round 2002 and November round 2002), (Best overall dub with highest points average for March grading 2003), (Second best club place at the Auckland I North Regional’s April 2003). Looking forward to the future, Watch this space!

The Presidents Award

Grant Eccles

Grant Eccles is a dedicated and committed ITFNZ instructor, he has rarely missed training in the 4.5 years he has been running the Hamilton club. He always comes to training with a high level of energy and enthusiasm. On top of his normal club training, Mr Eccles was the assistant coach to the very our most successful Junior Worlds team last year and also serves on the Tournaments sub-committee. Mr Eccles is always involved with Taekwon-do and he is an inspiration, he is a great example of not only what an ITF instructor should be, but also a student of Taekwon-Do.

Since starting Taekwon-Do 16 years ago Grant has tried to make himself available of every Taekwon-Do event. He assisted Massey University Club from 1993-1994 before becoming head instructor 1995, he also assisted Glenfield Club 1995-1997. In 1999 after moving to Hamilton he founded the Hamilton Taekwon-Do Club. He has been on the tournaments sub-committee since 1998 and has taught many umpires courses in many regions. He is has been either an official or a competitor at every major ITFNZ tournament since the mid 1990’s. Grant was also on the organising committee for the 2002 Nationals where his input and enthusiasm was invaluable.

In 2000 Grant travelled with the Junior World Team to North Korea and when on to be assistant coach for a 2002 Junior Team in Puerto Rico. His skills as a coach and the rapport he has with his students are all attributes a good ITF practitioner should possess.

Paul McPhail

What can you say about Mr McPhail?

An inductee into the NZ Martial Arts Hall of Fame on June 1st 2002, he is a 6th Degree Black Belt and an International Instructor, Vice President Oceanic Taekwon-Do Federation,Chief Examiner for ITFNZ, Director of the Technical Committee, Web master for ITFNZ site (which is updated very regularly). He is the Instructor of the Papakura branch of ITFNZ.

Mr McPhail has been active within Taekwon-Do in NZ for over 28 years. He is an official for many tournaments annually - those held within the two Auckland Regions plus the Nationals - also in Australia and the 2003 World Championships in Poland. He was the organiser of the Epson Open Tournaments for both 2001 and 2002 - and very probably again in 2003. Mr McPhail has given his time to co-ordinating the training sessions for our new Ji Shin club seniors and committed himself to taking some of the sessions himself.
He is the author of a number of Taekwon-Do publications including the 2002 Black Belt Handbook and the 2001 Grading Syllabus video, has put together a great deal of the documentation/publications currently used by ITFNZ, organises seminars and gradings within NZ and is involved in organising overseas Masters for Senior Black Belt Gradings and Seminars. He is also responsible for a number of programmes, certificates, flyers and posters (including the new brochures) and writes and distributes newsletters and updated information on a regular basis. He organised the new ITFNZ flags - from the original idea right through to the receipt of completed flags.

Mr McPhail and his club were finalists (in four categories) in the Counties Manukau Sporting Excellence Awards 2002 held on 31st October. For his services as Chief Examiner, Web page administrator, Author of training materials and Director of Technique, Mr Paul McPhail was chosen as the Administrator of the Year. For their achievements at Regional and National tournaments, the contribution of club members to the National Body, and their involvement in the local community, Papakura Club was chosen for the Counties Manukau Club Award.

An organiser and the Coach for the Auckland Instructors’ training sessions, he is the backbone of the Counties Manukau Region and an inspiration for all ITFNZ students both within the Region and Nationally.

Kris Herbison

Kris Herbison is the III Dan instructor of the University of Otago ITF Taekwon-Do club, the South Island regional treasurer, the South Island team manager and coach, and a member of the Tournaments subcommittee and the Marketing subcommittee of ITFNZ. His dedication to the smooth running of the region is exemplary; he devotes most of his time to organising events, fundraising and administration and still finds time to instruct students, and further his own learning in Taekwon-Do.

This year no ITF Taekwon-Do tournament was held at the Annual University Games, due to the high costs involved in getting teams to Palmerston North. However ITF Taekwon-Do was established as an official event at the games by Kris last year, and there will definitely be a competition next year when the games return to Otago. Kris organised both the 2001 and 2002 competitions. There are still plans underway to make ITF Taekwon-Do an official event at the World University Games.

Kris’s determination for his club and region to have access to all the equipment necessary for training has seen him raise well over $60,000. The greatest expenditure of money raised $30,000 has been on 4 sets of sparring mats, enabling students from the South Island to train on the same surface as that required at National and International ITF tournaments. He raised $7500 last year to assist the South Island Team travel to Hamilton for the National Tournament, and has so far raised over $13,000 towards the National Tournament to be held in Dunedin this year. Kris wrote a comprehensive guide on how to obtain money through community funding for his III Dan thesis, which is recommended reading for every instructor, team manager and event manager. His work in funding has not just benefited his club and region, but he has been asked to give a presentation to the New Zealand University Students Association on the matter. Next year he will make a presentation about funding at the ITFNZ instructors conference.
Kris is very active in the South Island Region, taking his roles on two of the subcommittees very seriously. He often acts as the spokesperson for the Dunedin area, and is constantly seeking ways for improved training and more contact between the rather far removed clubs from across the South Island. He played the pivotal role in organising last years South Island Regional Tournament, the Regional camp, the interclub tournaments in Dunedin, and the last two Otago area camps. He has acted as the team manager and coach of the South Island Nationals Team for the last two years, as well as this year. Kris is often consulted by the other Instructors in the South Island for advice on running events due to his extensive knowledge and experience in this particular aspect of Taekwon-Do.

He has also been responsible for raising the profile of Taekwon-Do, especially in the Dunedin area. He participates in trainings at all three Dunedin clubs and often instructs at the Dunedin and Mosgiel clubs. Kris established a beginner’s course at the Otago University’s Clubs and Societies Centre to attract new members to the art, and was also asked by the School of Physical Education at the Otago University to teach a course in Taekwon-Do to the students as part of their degree. This course is now part of the Physical Education Bachelors Degree at the University of Otago.

Kris is a dedicated and tireless worker, often up until late hours completing paperwork or organising things. However he never complains, and is always humble about his achievements. His perseverance is a fantastic example for everyone he comes into contact with. The entire South Island region has benefited greatly from Kris’s efforts, and it is through him that the region has grown stronger and will continue to grow into the future. It is with pride that we nominate Kris for the ITFNZ President’s award for 2003.

Greg Skinner

Helped design the U18 Tournaments and created the Series.

Managed the New Zealand Team. Member of the Auckland North Supporters Group. Aided Carl Matthews with Fundraising for World Champs team. Arranged funding for Sam Skinner and Anna Wintle allowing them to compete at the Junior World Champs. Arranged the support and sponsorship to allow the New Zealand Team to have Gear Bags, Tracksuits, Shirts etc, which were all presented to the team. Supported Nibun ITF at every tournament including away tournaments. Supported Auckland North at all of their National Tournaments. Arranged for the mats to be shipped to Taupo for both the Junior and the Senior Squads. Arranged for and transported Honza Kubat up to Russell and Whangarei clubs.