INTA Umpires Course / National Championships

Written on 28 May 2020.

In light of current restrictions, the INTA have decided to cancel the next umpires course scheduled for September and the 2020 INTA National Championships which was scheduled to be held in October. The INTA will be guided by HSE guidelines for all future events and will keep members informed.

INTA Open 2020

Written on 13 March 2020.

The Irish National Taekwon-Do Association ran the 21st edition of the INTA Open International Taekwon-Do Tournament; this is the longest running Open competition in Europe! Competitors arrived from Poland, Scotland, Norway, Belgium, Northern Ireland, and Ireland; 505 in total. Guests of honour were the President of ITF Belgium, Master Annick van Driessche VII Degree; the President of ITF Scotland, Master Dunbar VIII; and Technical Director of ITF Belgium, Grand Master Vanberghen IX Degree. They were joined by the Vice-President of the INTA, Master Douglas VIII Degree, and the President of the INTA, Grand Master O'Toole IX Degree.

We commemorated the loss of our friend and champion of Taekwon-Do, Grand Master Sheena Sutherland IX Degree with a minute silence.

Colour belt children of 13 and under filled the first day of the event. It all started with the Flying high front kick for all participants across all 7 rings, followed by patterns and sparring. It's always a pleasure to see so much young talent on the floor. The first day went very smooth, with the last bouts stopping just before 4 p.m. It was a very enjoyable day.

The Sunday was reserved for all black belts, and any colour belt over the age of 14. The INTA is very happy with the high standard of the competition. There was patterns and sparring for everyone, but the spectacular Power category was only available for black belts over 18 years.

Sunday was also the ITF International Women's Day in sport. The President of ITF Belgium, Master Annick van Driessche VII Degree, gave a speech during the opening ceremony on the unfortunate necessity of this day, after which all female umpires, competitors, and coaches got together for a group photo. They received a fantastic round of applause. International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality.

We congratulate all competitors; you put on a great display! Many thanks to all the umpires, coaches, and parents, who all gave up their free time to make this tournament possible. A big shout out to INTA's new Tournament Director, Master Martin VIII, and his assistant Mr Matthews V Degree; they made a tremendous effort in organizing this tournament, and it all ran smooth as clockwork.

INTA message to instructors re Covid 19

Written on 13 March 2020.

The recent announcement from the Taoiseach has seen Covid 19 move to the Delay Phase and has advised the closure of schools, universities and other facilities. The INTA is following these guidelines and will operate with due diligence during the suggested period. We advise same for you and your clubs during this period to ensure health and safety of our members.

The next INTA event is scheduled for 18/19 April but we will monitor the situation and be guided by the HSE in relation to all events.

Up to date details can be found on the HSE website:https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/news/newsfeatures/covid19-updates/

INTA Annual General Meeting 2019

Written on 10 December 2019.

The Irish National Taekwon-Do Association held its Annual General Meeting in the Maldron Hotel in Tallaght, Co. Dublin, on Sunday 8 December.

Grandmaster O'Toole, President of the INTA, welcomed everyone and opened the meeting at noon sharp.

Ms O'Keeffe quickly reviewed this year's agenda and last year's minutes, after which Grandmaster O'Toole gave an year-end review. Grandmaster O'Toole thanked all those that put a lot of their time and tremendous effort in to the functioning of the INTA; most of the work of the Executive, the Board and various committees goes unnoticed to most, but behind the scenes an lot of work gets done, for the benefit of all INTA members.

After this various reports were discussed, and extensive calendar of events was handed out. The items in the calendar will appear on this website shortly.

At the end, Grandmaster O'Toole wished everyone a good holiday season and a happy new year, and closed the meeting.