4th Gold Coast Open
A total of 362 competitors from all states of Australia attended the 4th Gold Cost Open. There were also teams from NZ and Tonga. The black belt divisions were the best that Australia has to offer. We had 2 divisions with over 12 players in them. Most divisions had many current Australian team members. With so many TA and STA clubs in attendance, it was a great chance to see the best from each body compete in the true spirit of Taekwondo. It was fantastic to see everyone get on and hopefully this will pave the way for unification of Taekwondo in Australia. The Daedo PSS electronic chest guards were used for a large number of coloured belt divisions. Next year we will expand the divisions to include more junior divisions. Three very special Memorial awards were given out over the weekend. The Wayne Brown Memorial Award given for the best Poomse Spirit went to Maddy Houston from Factor Ten (Qld). The Mario Rejtano Memorial Award given for best Sparring player went to Aaron Wain from Fighting Lyons (Vic). The Ken Mayfield Memorial Award for best sparring (Kyorugi) spirit on the day went to Michael Magee from Global MA (Sydney). Alan Powrie of Powrie & Co, Barristers and Solicitors has kindly donated the Ken Mayfield Award.