Kansas State Teams – Organizational Structure
The Kansas Taekwondo Association wishes to follow the standard set by USA Taekwondo to achieve the mission of sustained competitive excellence. The KTA operates as an athlete-centered organization with the intent of developing an ideal, seamless and fully-integrated athlete pipeline leading to high level USAT Competition and hopefully USAT National Team Membership.
Only USA Taekwondo athletes are eligible to participate in USA Taekwondo Sanctioned Events, which mirror the USA Taekwondo “Athlete Development Pipeline” ideals. To compete in a USAT event, the athlete must meet certain criteria, such as being a member of USAT, attaining a certain level belt color and competing in appropriate age divisions. To make a Kansas State Team, specific selection procedures are applied that have comprehensive stages and processes. The basic information can be found below with more detailed information attached to each event.
The State Teams for 2011 are as follows:
(1) Junior Prep Team (12-13 Year Olds)
(2) Junior State Team (14 -17 Year Olds)
(3) Senior State Team (14 Years & Older)
(4) Poomsae State Team (14 + Years Old)
Each year the Kansas State Team will be introduced through participation in either the Winter Class Taekwondo Tournament or the TeamTrials Event depending on age divisions. After the team is announced individuals will be notified and we will be posting team training opportunities and other team related announcements!
Athletes will not be allowed to serve on multiple teams with the exception of being a sparring team member and a poomsae team member. No members can be on both the Jr and Sr Sparring team during the same year as to allow maximum participation by all interested individuals.
Benefits
The bigest benefits of the Kansas State Team is to allow the athletes to maintain their training within their own clubs but to allow them the chance to train with high level coaches on a monthly basis and with other high level athletes that can offer more intensive training and a good environment for personal development and growth. Members of the Kansas State Team will receive free admission to the 2011 Kansas State Championship and those who qualify for nationals may receive benefits to attend the 2011 USAT National Championships. In the process of developing better athletes the KTA has hopes that the various athletes’ coaches will have the opportunity to learn from the coaches that are brought in to share the knowledge with the team.
Coaching
There will not be a dedicated KTA “Coaching Staff.” There will be a team coordinator in charge of arranging practices and policies regarding the team and its operation. Throughout the year, the KTA may hold fundraising events to further assist team members attend other events including international opens, other regional tournaments or other events that are deemed important by the Team Coordinator and Board of Directors.
If you are interested in affiliating with the Kansas Taekwondo Association for your athletes to have these opportunties please contact seth@kstaekwondo.org