The national team dates & venues for the Euros '21 campaign are currently being finalised by management and we hope to have all venues confirmed in the coming week.

    The current information is as follows:
    July 11th, National Team Training in UL Sport Arena
    July 25th - National Team Training - Cork, venue TBC
    Aug 15th - National Team Training - Dublin - venue TBC
    Aug 29th - National Team Training - UL Sport Arena
    Sept 12th - National Team Training - Cork - venue TBC
    Sept 26th - National Team Training - Dublin - venue TBC
    Oct 10th - National Team Training - UL Sport Arena
    Oct 24th - National Team Training - Cork - venue TBC
    Nov 14th - National Team Training - Dublin - venue TBC

The ITF International umpire course was held online via zoom by the ITF umpire committee. This course is a qualify course for A and B class umpires. There were over 440 participants from around the world.
There was a large participation from the INTA with the umpire committee and other INTA instructors taking part.
On day one Master Abelardo Benzaquen, chairman of the ITF umpire committee, opened up the proceedings with a message from the President GM Weiler to officially open this course. Master Wallace covered in detail the duties of the ring council on how to open/close and enter/leave the ring. Master Ruben Suarez covered the procedures on how the Electronic scoring system works, the 0.2 deductions and 0.1 deductions on scoring patterns in detail.
GM Lan Ung  and GM Marano from the technical committee were there also to give their input regarding technical questions on the performance of patterns. This area was the most debated regarding the speed patterns are preformed at in a tournament. After a short break we continued with the procedures on sparring with the scoring, warnings and fouls. This was covered by Master Wallace with the aid of videos which had some technical issues. Master Ottesen was, as always, every passionate about centre refereeing and how to control the ring. We had a chance to move about with Master Ottesen practicing the hand signals for both warning and fouls.
Grand master Lan Ung and Master Ottesen were most inspiring with their energy and passion.

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Day 2 started with the guest appearance from GM Weiler, who was quite proud of the fact that this was one of the largest English spoken courses online with over 451 participants.
A presentation followed, covering the procedures regarding team Patterns on how to score and how to use the SET system. Master Wallace had great videos outlining how the team pattern is kept within the orientation of the ring without stepping outside the parameters of the area. There was an in depth breakdown of incorrect movements from GM Marano and GM Lan Ung, looking at the rhythm of the patterns and at normal motion being one breath.

After a short 15 minute break we resumed with the procedures on how to score pre-arranged sparring, again Master Wallace did a great job with videos and detailed information regarding this.
Up next was Master Kurt Ottesen with his presentation on Power competition. With his in-depth experience, he gave a detailed breakdown of the rules and procedures on how to run and score the power division. There is now an official supplier for the breaker boards, and the boards now have round edges. Master Ottesen continued next with special tech again covering in detail the breakdown of the rules and procedures in this section.

The last twenty minutes of the course was a Q and A section with a compiled list of questions from the participants to the Umpire committee. They informed us there would be an online exam at the end of the course and it could be completed within 48 hours.

Master Benzaquen then proceed with closing the umpire course by thanking everyone who attended, and all the Grandmasters, Masters and officials.

Many thanks to The ITF Umpire committee  for such a detailed and successful online course.
Well done to the INTA Umpire committee, INTA Black belts who attend. Looking forward to working with you all at the next tournament. Keep practicing our new skills.

Dear INTA Members,

2020 is coming to an end and it has not been a good year for any of us involved in our beloved Taekwon-Do. We have had to deal with the ups and downs of lockdown at different times during the year, and with the uncertainty of being able to run our individual schools.

Some of us tried to return to Taekwon-Do training when we were allowed to do so, however, since March, we have had to close our schools, and this has taken a physical and mental strain on us all. All events for the year had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. Some of our instructors were able to get back to online classes and I commend them for this, unfortunately some were either not in a position to move their classes online or did not have the facilities to do so.

In life we are all thrown a curve ball at times that makes us sit up and take account of our lives, where we are going with it, and how we are going to change it. This year, we have all had plenty of time to reflect on what has been happening in our Taekwon-Do lives and personal lives because of COVID 19 and, hopefully, make some changes for the future.

COVID 19 is still here in our country and restrictions are, unfortunately, part of our daily lives. Many people have been infected by this virus and, sadly, many have died from it. My condolences go out to anyone who may have been put in this terrible situation.

Nevertheless, things are looking promising for the future with the introduction of a new vaccine to be rolled out in the new year and, hopefully, we will all soon be back in our schools training and teaching once again.

Even though many events from the INTA 2020 calendar were cancelled, there has been plenty going behind the scenes with the Board and Executive working hard on behalf of the association. There are events planned for 2021 but they will be subject to the restriction at the time.

Most recently, during our AGM, we had an election for the INTA Executive and Board positions, and I am delighted to announce the following results:

Executive members:

President: Grand Master Val Douglas
Vice-President: Master Gerry Martin
Secretary: Mr Keith Matthews
Treasurer: Mr Liam Carberry

Board members:

Mr Tony Mc Donagh (Munster Area)
Ms Nicole Douglas (Dublin Area)
Ms Nicola Bergin (Rest of Ireland)

I would also like to thank the previous Executive and Board members for their many years of hard work and immense contributions to the INTA:
Grand Master Brendan O Toole
Master Alan Troy
Mr Gareth Curran
Mr Jeroen Wezelman

On behalf of the Executive and Board of the INTA, I would like to wish you all a happy, safe and healthy New Year.

Grand Master Val Douglas
INTA President.