2023 All-City Champs this Weekend!

We are looking forward to our tournament this Friday and Saturday, April 26th and 27th!  the following is information taht was sent out to all students via email on Thursday, April 25th. 

Competition and Arrival Times: 

Black Belts will compete on Friday night at 6 pm.  Spectators are welcome.  All other students (white through red) will compete on Saturday. You will find details on your competition time below.  You will need to arrive 30 minutes prior to the start time of your competition to check in, etc.  Some divisions may begin early, so please be at Alameda at your arrival time.  Thank you.  

Purple, Brown, & Red belts, all ages: 8 am start time, 7.30 am arrival time

Ages 8 and under; white, yellow, orange, green, blue belts and all tigers: 10.30 am start time, 10 am arrival time

Ages 9 and up; white, yellow, orange, green, blue belts: 1 pm start time, 12.30 pm arrival time

Location details, parking:

The tournament will be at Alameda International High School which is located at 1255 S Wadsworth Blvd., Lakewood, CO 80232.  

Please park in the large parking lot on the southwest corner of Louisiana and Allison St. (There is another parking lot on the northwest corner of Arizona and Allison / north of the tennis courts that can be used for overflow parking).

Please do not double park and/or block someone in.  If both parking lots are full, there is a lot of neighborhood street parking available in the area or you can see if there is room in the main entrance parking lot.  

You will enter the school through the doors facing west. The title 'ALAMEDA INTERNATIONAL' is written in large block letters above the doors.  It is marked with a red star in the graphic below.  

Checking students in and getting them to their rings:

Once you enter, you will be directed to a check-in table.  The check-in will be divided up alphabetically by last name so please proceed to the table marked with the first letter of your last name.

While checking-in, someone will write ring numbers on your hands.  You will have a green number on your right hand and a red number on your left hand.  Once you have your ring numbers, you will head to the upper bleachers of the gym to settle in.  You will be called down to the floor for the group photo and will proceed to the green ring number after the group photo.

Parents of younger students competing at 10.30 am, you will take your student down to the gym floor when called for the group photo.  After the group photo and announcements, black belts will take the students to their correct ring number which will be the GREEN number on their right hand. The ring number will be labeled with big signs.  These ring signs are not color coded, so please look to the ring number on your student's hand that is green and disregard the color of the ring sign.  

Once students are settled at their rings, we ask that spectators stay in the upper bleachers and off the gym floor for safety and to provide more room for the competitions.  Please show your students where you will be so they know where to find you.  If you have a very young child (tigers ages 2 - 4) who needs assistance, it is okay if you need to stay nearby on the gym floor. 

Tiger students (2-4 and some 5 year olds who attend 30 minutes classes) will compete in two divisions in the same ring and then will be dismissed for the day.  

All other students will compete in poomse first.  After that competition ends, students will then go to the RED ring number on their LEFT hand for sparring (school program students will not spar but will compete in Self-Defense in Walking Drills instead). 

Parents of students ages 7 and under, please come down to the podium to collect your student after their first competition and to help them get to their second.

After your student is done competing in all of their divisions, please come down to the edge of the gym floor to collect them.  Thank you.

Sparring (or Self-Defense for School Program students) will also be the final competition for white and yellow belts ages 9 - 11.

Orange belts and above, ages 12 and up, will also compete in breaking.  After their sparring division concludes, please stay in the gym and listen for their name to be called to their breaking ring.

Etiquette and Uniform

All students should arrive already dressed out in their uniforms with their belts tied.  Anyone with long hair will need to have it tied back securely.  No jewelry is permitted, and freshly pierced ears need to be covered from front to back with medical tape and/or bandaids.  Students should wear a white crewneck t-shirt beneath their uniform top.  Students should not wear jeans or secondary pants underneath their uniform pants as this will inhibit their ability to kick.

Boards

If your student is competing in breaking (students age 12 and up, orange and above), they will need to provide their own boards for this competition.  Please touch base with your instructor with any questions you may have here.

Lastly, please do not attend the tournament if you or your student is ill or has tested positive for Covid.  Thank you.  

If you have any questions at all, please reach out to your instructor.  We are so proud of all of our students' hard work and preparation, and we look forward to this weekend!  Thank you.

April Tournament Registration Now Open!

APRIL TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

Registration for the 2024 All-City Championship tournament on April 26th and 27th is officially open.  This event will take place at Alameda International High School in Lakewood.  Black belts will compete Friday evening and all other belts will compete on Saturday.  We have attached the tournament brochure to this email in case you have not yet received it.

Please register by clicking here and then clicking the indigo square that reads 'All-City Champs Tournament.'  Please note that even if you have informed your instructor that you will be attending the tournament, you still must register and remit payment via the above link.  Registration is due April 18th; after that a $10 late fee will apply.  

Please note:  Tiger (2-4 year olds and some 5s who attend 30-minute classes only) registration is $40. School Program (students who do not attend CTI Campus classes) registration is also $40. All other students are $55 or $65.

Here are the competition times for that weekend: 

Black Belts - Friday evening, timetable will come to you in an email as we get closer to the event.  Likely 6 pm.

• Purple, Brown, Red Belts, all ages: Saturday 8 am
• White, Yel, Org, Green, Blue Belts, ages 8 and under: Saturday 10.30 am
• White, Yel, Org, Green, Blue Belts, ages 9 and up: Saturday 1 pm
• You will want to check-in about 30 minutes prior to your competition time.  We will detail the check-in process as we get closer to the competition.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your instructor.

We hope to see you all there! Start the summer off strong!

Taking Initiative

By: Alex Schwartz, Junior 1st Dan

Taking initiative is doing something without being told to do it. When you are anywhere, whether at home, work, school, or other place, a person who takes initiative is useful to help get everything done without having to bother a boss, coach, etc. with a bunch of questions.

This is important because it helps out the people around you along with yourself. When you take initiative it shows the people around you like your friends, family, or even boss that you have a high work ethic and shows how well of a leader you can be. Taking initiative is a great way to show your ability to take action and help out at the same time. At home you can take a little more initiative and do the dishes, clean, walk the dog, etc. before your parents or roommate have to ask you a bunch of times. And they will appreciate everything you help out with.

In taekwondo there are many times when taking initiative is important and very very useful. A big time when it is useful is at tournaments (or any other event). At the tournament there are lots to set up (or take down) like trophies, judging chairs, ring flags, etc. It really helps out when you take the initiative and just start helping with whatever you see needs to be done, without just standing around and letting someone else do the work. And it takes a whole lot of stress off off everyone when everyone helps out.

Another place where taking initiative is really important is at school or even a workplace. At school there are times where you do a lab of some sort in science. After the lab there is always at least 10 minutes where their teacher has the class clean up, during this time a lot of students ask the teacher a billion questions causing them stress. It is really helpful when there is a student who takes responsibility and just cleans up whatever they can, being a huge help for the teacher. This is not just for labs but any project you do in school. This can be the same as your job, at your workplace there are often team meetings and sometimes potlucks. When those meetings are over, if you stay make sure the chairs are pushed in, there's no trash or anything spilled, the person who ran the meeting and the next person to use the room will be extremely thankful. 

In summary, it's not hard to take initiative and you don't have to do everything. Just a few small easy things can make a huge difference to help out no matter where you are. And along with helping out it can show to those around you your leadership skills, and your willingness to work hard when needed.