Australia's Junior National Team kicked off their World Championships campaign with a high-performance training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra, marking a key milestone in their preparation.
Australia's best Taekwondo athletes will head to Bendigo next month with Victoria's fourth largest city host of this year's National Championships.
A premier event on Australia's combat sports calendar, which includes its prestigious fight night, will be held at Red Energy Arena from December 3-4, 2022.
Australian Taekwondo's Chief Executive Officer, Heather Garriock, is delighted to bring Taekwondo back to regional Victoria.
“We’re excited to return to Bendigo with a new-look event for the local region to enjoy and the opportunity to showcase Taekwondo’s fight night in a way not seen before."
"Event feedback from our 2021 National Championships showed 37% of state representation came from Victoria, followed by New South Wales at 28%. We took this information into consideration when determining the location for this year's event," added Garriock.
The Mayor of the City of Greater Bendigo, Andrea Metcalf, said she was delighted to see the city attract another significant sporting event to the region.
“We are thrilled to welcome these national championships back to Bendigo, having previously hosted this event from 2016-2018.
“Our city has an established reputation of hosting state, national and international sporting competitions, and we are grateful for any opportunity to have people visit and stay in our region. We wish all competitors the best of luck.”
The event will see hundreds of athletes, coaches, officials, and fans descend on Red Energy Arena, the largest indoor stadium in Regional Victoria, for two days of competition.
Undergoing a $23 million expansion in 2018, Red Energy Arena attracts some of the state's most significant sporting and entertainment events.
The Australian Taekwondo National Championships presented by OBG Productions will see athletes, who have qualified through their respective State Championships, compete with two disciplines on offer, Kyorugi (Sparring) and Poomsae (Patterns). Board Breaking will also appear on the schedule at this year's event.
Athletes from developing colour belt grades through to the elite black belts will compete in the Sparring disciplines, with ages ranging from 8 to 60 years in the master's divisions.
Poomsae will include individual, pairs, teams, family and freestyle events, while breaking will be individual (hands).
The marquee Fight Night, which was introduced at the 2021 National Championships, will be the decider for gold and silver in the World Championship Weight Divisions.
The night will see Australia's top 32 black belts fight under lights and the opportunity for Regional Victoria to get a glimpse at Australia's potential Olympians for Paris 2024.
"We seek to produce our events with an international flair and deliver an experience for our athletes, coaches and fans that is usually only found overseas," said Garriock.
"We're really grateful for the generous support of the City of Greater Bendigo and the Victorian State Government in supporting our event and our vision to transform Taekwondo in Australia. We encourage Victorians who enjoy combat sports to make the trip to Bendigo and experience Taekwondo."
The Australian Taekwondo National Championships presented by OBG Productions will be held at Red Energy Arena in Bendigo from December 3-4, 2022.
The event is proudly supported by the City of Greater Bendigo and the Victorian State Government.
Spectator tickets are on sale through Ticketek. A limited number of Fight Night sponsorship packages are also available.
Australia's Junior National Team kicked off their World Championships campaign with a high-performance training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra, marking a key milestone in their preparation.
Victorian Bailey Lewis delivered an impressive performance at the Olympic Games, making a remarkable debut in the Taekwondo competition at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Warren Hansen was one of eight Australian Taekwondo athletes to compete at the Sydney 2000 Olympics – the first ever games to include Taekwondo as an official sport – where he acquitted himself well in the men's 80kg event.