Ravenscraig Regional Sports Centre, was the venue for the ITF Scotland National Championships on Saturday 9th April.

The event drew a record 504 competitors from 32 schools across Scotland and the North of England as well as a team from Ireland.

This year ITF Scotland invited guests of the newly formed government recognised Sports Scotland group (SCoT) of which ITF Scotland are members.  Senior Master Derek Campbell 8th Degree (UKTC) and Mr. Gareth McKenna both board members of SCoT attended, and presented medals to the winners throughout the day.  Grand Master MacCallum 9th Degree and President of ITF Scotland was also present at the event.

Competing Schools

ABC, Arbroath, Chimera, Churchwood TKD, Club Lee, Coatbridge, Dundee, Erskine, Firhill, Glasgow East, GMAC Livingston, GMAC Tollcross, GMAC Uddingston, GMAC Wishaw, Howden, I-Kick, Inspiration TKD, Inverness, Lochgelly, McGowan’s BBA, MHF, MSBA, Nairn, Northern Taekwon-Do Academies, Penrith, Pro-Edge TKD, Relflex, S.M.A.C., Scotia TKD, Shaw Martial Arts, South Queensferry, Whitburn Martial Arts

Congratulations to Northern Taekwon-Do Academies lifting the overall group trophy, and to McGowan’s BBA on winning the Mr. Timoney memorial shield for best school result.

We would like to thank everyone for their efforts throughout the day; the competitors who showed great sportsmanships during the competition, to the umpire’s for giving up their day to referee, and to the supporters for creating such a great and friendly atmosphere.

Results can be found here.

A selection of photo’s from the event can be found on our Facebook page.

Next years event will take place over two days on 25th & 26th February 2017.  Keep the date in your calendar.

On Friday 18^th March, three members of ITF Scotland travelled to St. Petersburg, Russia at the invite of ITF St. Petersburg, and the Russian Taekwon-Do Federation to the Northern Palmira Cup. This was a two-day event held in the new Nova Centre, in St. Petersburg town centre. The competition had over 900 entrants, across two days with a Grand Gala Final on the Sunday evening.

On arrival in St. Petersburg, the warmth of the hospitality and professionalism of the organisers, already overwhelmed us. Along with members from Israel, Ireland, Greece and Uzbekistan, we spent Saturday with Master Lazaros Tsilfidis and other distinguished guests on a sightseeing tour of what is an amazing city, full of so many wondrous and historic sights.

On Sunday we arrived at the arena and the level of professionalism was clear to see; a futuristic, state of the art venue with electronic scoring across all rings, four huge TV screens showing all events, and to top it off there was the Gala Final in the evening, with many special guests in attendance.

First competing was Miss Megan Brown, in Patterns, winning Bronze. Sparring saw her dominating, and taking Gold in a convincing final against Uzbekistan.

It was then time for the Gala Finals, and we were certainly entertained with many great fights, and a spectacle of shows in between bouts.   Mr. Iain O’Hare fighting in the first of the finals, and after a strong performance took Gold against a formidable Russia opponent.

Both competitors showed their skill, and took their wins convincingly. A great event and experience for both competitors in preparation for the European Championships in six weeks time, in Finland.

After the competition we were treated to a wonderful Russian banquet, and party, with some dancing, speeches and great friendship.

I would like to extend our thanks to Master Tsilfidis and his amazing team of young enthusiastic people he has on board. On behalf of my team, and ITF Scotland I thank you for the warmth, friendship and hospitality shown to us over the weekend. If your looking for an international event to gain experience, this should be a must on your calendar, 900 competitors, 2 days, very high standard, easy and affordable to access. We will be back for sure.

Mr. John McIlvaney

ITF Scotland Team Manager

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It’s just over a month since ITF Scotland hosted a full weekend of training for its member’s that included an Instructor’s Course, First Aid Training, Child Protection and PVG. Not wanting to let the grass grow under our feet we’ve added to that with our newly revised Umpires Course.

Preperations

The ITF Scotland Tournament & Umpire Committee held a meeting on the 16^th of January to discuss the future of the ITF Scottish Championships, primarily the scope and profile of the competition. It was decided that the championships needed to be opened up in the hope that over the coming years it will build to be one of the biggest competitions within the UK, with competitors from all across Europe. We have big plans for our national championships and in order to bring these to fruition some changes need to be made in the running of the event, the main stay of which would be the calibre of the Umpires in attendance.

Over the last couple of months the ITF Scotland Umpire Committee have been working hard on a programme that will see all Scottish Umpires attain a nationally recognised qualification. A level 3,2 or 1 depending on age, degree and experience (more about that later). This modular course is now complete and ready to be rolled out.

Umpires Course

The course took place at the GMAC Gym in Livingston with registration starting promptly at 8.45am. Master Gordon Wallace 8^th Degree opened the days proceedings by introducing the ITF Scotland Umpire Committee to all those in attendance, the committee consisting of himself includes; Master David McNairn 7^th Degree, Mr Mark Boydell 5^th Degree and Mr Ronnie Dewhurst 4^th Degree.

The day was divided into several parts that included both theory and practical elements.

Master Wallace started the day with an introduction to the National Championship’s and the updated umpire rules. He then went on to outline the duties and responsibilities of all Umpires and Officials before explaining the new ITFS Scotland Umpire Qualification Process.

Although the course was open to red belts and above starting at 14 years, the end game is to have nationally recognised full time Umpires. The course is modular in its design and qualification’s can only be attained by umpiring full time at an ITFS recognised tournament. These qualifications, Class 1,2,3 run parallel with the ITF Class A and Class B system. Each grade is acquired dependant on age, rank and the modules carried out during the running of a specified tournament. A qualifying umpire will not be permitted to compete at the competition and must carry out their assigned duties for the full duration of the day’s events*.

Master Wallace finished with Ring Organisation, Process, Admin and Equipment. Spending some time explaining the draw system and how to make late corrections and alterations. There was then a break for lunch.

The afternoon session started with the customary group photo then straight into pattern and pre-arranged free sparring. Master David McNairn took control of these elements explaining in great detail the updated scoring process, highlighting errors and how to make deductions when applicable.

Mr Boydell assisted by Mr Dewhurst stepped in to take next part of the course which covered all duties of the Centre and Corner Referees. Explaining the equipment checks, scoring system, how to start, control and finish sparring in the ring. There was a lot of practical work here with everyone getting on their feet to go thru varying scenarios to test their knowledge of the correct hand signals and terminology.

Back to Master McNairn and yet more practical work, covering ring etiquette, the correct procedure for umpires entering and leaving the ring, posture, demeanour and overall professionalism.

Sadly due to the enthusiasm shown by all taken part on the course and the open forum to ask questions and share knowledge and experience, the day was just not long enough. We had hoped to cover Power Test and Special Technique but these will have to wait for our next Umpires Course. ITF Scotland plan to hold further Umpire Courses each one tailored to different aspects of competition for those umpires wishing to specialize in a specific role, the modules are designed with this in mind. The course finished with a handout of the Umpire & Referee Qualification Module, the recipients will have the opportunity at the forthcoming ITF Scottish Championships to complete these modules and gain their qualifications.

Many Thanks to Master Gordon Wallace for putting together such a concise and thorough qualification process and module pack, also the course structure and PowerPoint display. Special Thanks to Master McNairn, Mr Boydell and Mr Dewhurst for their instruction, also to Tournament Committee Member Mrs Gillian MacIlvaney 5^th Degree for being such a gracious host.  Thanks as well to Mrs Jacqui Wallace 3rd Degree and Mr John Munro 4^th Degree for helping with the setup and preparation.

*If you would like more information on the Umpire & Referee Qualification Modules then please contact ITF Scotland or attend our next Umpires Course.

Mr Ronnie Dewhurst 4^th Degree

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ITF Scotland Board of Directors would like to welcome officially to the board, Mr. Paul Mullen 1st Degree.  Mr. Mullen takes up his role as Safeguarding Officer to ITF Scotland.  He will be liaising with instructors in the coming weeks with regards to PVG applications.

We’d like to wish Mr. Mullen success in his new post.

ITF Scotland held their first instructors course of 2016 over the weekend of 6th & 7th February, hosted by Mr. John McIlvaney at his gym in Livingston.  37 instructors from across Scotland enrolled for the course, which included a Child Protection Course, First Aid Course as well as the first module of the Instructors Course’s.

Saturday morning comprised of the child protection course, which was conducted by our child protection officer, Angela Lindie.

Ms. Lindie talked about safety issues in class, highlighting the importance of looking after all of our students while taking classes, more importantly the juniors. How to deal effectively with any issues arising and how to deal with these issues appropriately. The participants worked in teams with scenarios given to us and had to identify the correct way to respond.

The second half of the course in the afternoon was taken by Master Campins.

The course content was important for those wishing to open a school, the do’s and don’t’ s, and the  correct procedure for applying to open areas. He then went on to talk more about communication between instructor and student, setting out scenarios with questions on how to deal with any problems that may arise.  Those on the course were also able to discuss ideas and methodologies in training, and more specifically delivering instruction in various ways to different age groups.

On completion of Saturday’s teachings the participants were presented with their first certificate from the course, in the form of their child protection qualification.

Sunday was another early start, with the course beginning at 9am, and led firstly by Mr. Paul Mullen 1st degree, and recently appointed board member of ITF Scotland.  Mr. Mullen has taken on the role of ITF Scotlands Safeguarding Officer, and as such delivered information regarding the new PVG scheme, and explaining how to make the correct application to the PVG scheme.

On to the second part of the instructors course module.  This started with Master Campins directing the participants through some ideas of class procedures, warm-up routines to get the brain going, working with partners, and teaching fundamental movements in a variety of ways to engage with the age group of the classes the instructors will be teaching in their own schools.  There was discussions on how to explain techniques to students, setting goals and expectations and much more.  All participants actively gave their ideas to the group working together to build on their knowledge, and take new ideas back to their own schools.

During this session, the senior degrees took the opportunity to work on higher grade patterns with Master McNairn.
After a lunch break, the participants rounded off the weekends course, with the first aid course, gaining a 3 year qualification in Emergency First Aid Certification.  After an intensive and enthusiastic course, the participants were presented with their certificates for Level 1 qualification.

ITF Scotland are actively working to giving our members more availability of courses throughout 2016 and beyond, this first course, was an instructors course – level 1, which is the first of four levels of qualification, that all instructors require for teaching under the banner of ITF in Scotland.

The next instructors course will take place on 12th & 13th November 2016.  Please keep checking the website for information.

On behalf of ITF Scotland, I’d like to thank Master Campins and Master McNairn for delivering the course, as well as our Child protection officer; Ms Lindie for her time and delivering another insightful cp course.  To the first aid trainers Martin and Ashley for taking the time to deliver an engaging course.  Finally to Grand Master MacCallum for attending and completing the course alongside our other instructors and seniors.

Words; Mr. G Shaw VI Degree

Photo: Mr. J. McIlvaney VI Degree

Photo’s can be found by following this link 

ITF Scottish Championships 2016

It is with great pleasure that you and your students are invited to the ITF Scottish Championships on Saturday 9^th April, in Motherwell, Scotland.

This competition is open to all ITF Taekwon-Do students 10^th Kup to 6^th Degree.

Please take the time to read the following information. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the Tournament & Umpire Committee.

We look forward to seeing you and your students at the competition.

Yours in Taekwon-Do

Mrs. G. McIlvaney

ITF Scotland Tournament Committee

2016 ITFS Scottish Championship Invite

2016 ITFS National Champs – Ind Entry

2016 ITFS Instructor Top Sheet

ITF Scotland will host the 2016 Umpire Course on Saturday 19th March at GMAC Martial Arts Livingston.

Full details and application forms to follow.