1st Calabar Open Taekwondo Tourney Features U-12, U-17

Chairman, Local
Organising Committee (LOC) for the forthcoming 1st Calabar Open Taekwondo Champonships, Ferguson Oluigbo yesterday said it would feature U-12, U-17 and adult categories.
Oluigbo told newsmen in Lagos that the championships, will hold from January 19 to January 21, Kolanut Event Centre, in Five-Two Zero Hotels, Calabar City Mall.
He said that the objective was to further develop the sport in the area and to identify raw talents with outstanding skills in Poomsae (deomonstration) and kyrogi (fights) events.
“This is a grassroots championship, so, it is therefore important to group the participants according to their age categories so that they freely compete with one another.
“The championships will also help to improve the standard of taekwondo in states within the zone, while those who have been training will also know their form”, he said.
He said that althletes who wish to participate must present their age certificates or age declaration which would be cerified and confirmed by members of the LOC during registration.
“We want to record a well organised championships, therefore we will need to have their complete data to guide us during registration and screening before the competition”, he said.
The LOC chairman said the categories and events are in U-12 male and female individual Poomsae and Kyrogi, U-17 male and female individual Poomsae and Kyrogi.
The championships will give opportunity to individual adult male and female individual Poomsae and Kyrogi, while the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) rules would be applied in all the events.
According to him, the WTF rule of 16 weigh categories which allows for eight weights for male and eight for female in the fights event would be in operation.