INTA Open 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.