The Women for Women program aims to foster a sport, that being Taekwondo, that actively supports equality and respect for women and girls.
If you are a female or know of a female in Taekwondo, who is a great advocate for women in sport, then we would love to know!
Please send information and contact details to enquiries.
If your submission is chosen, we'll feature it on our site.
Amy Bodziony and Christine Balmer from Hills District Taekwondo were invited to attend an All Girls Multi Sport roadshow to promote and coach Taekwondo. The event was lead by Australian Netball Captain Liz Ellis with Multi Sport Coaching Clinics held across New South Wales and Queensland; Moree, Goondiwindi and Darby.
The roadshow also included elite athletes; Australian netball representative Catherine Cox and Sarah Barrett joining Liz Ellis coaching netball. Soccer by Matilda’s captain Cheryl Salisbury and Sacha Wainwright, Hockey with Haley Burke and Julie Gosper.
The event is a week-long series of coaching clinics hosted by elite athletes, to introduce children to sports, special emphasis is given to communities that are disadvantaged and lacking in opportunity.
The aim of the roadshow is to provide opportunities to girls in regional New South Wales and Queensland and to encourage skill development in a variety of sports, build positive female role models for girls in sport and provide inspiration and motivation for girls to remain in sport and strive to do their best, also at the same time enhancing fitness and well-being of young people.
Each clinic catered to a maximum of 160 girls between 9-15 years of age.
Fundraising dinners were also conducted in all towns where the elite athletes conversed with the community promoting their prospective sports to women and girls. The nights included dinners, drinks, trivia and auctions. It also gave the girls time to talk to the elite athletes.
The feedback & response from the Roadshow has been extremely positive from parents, teachers and students. The roadshow was a very good promotional activity and positive for Taekwondo.
“I started training after bringing and watching my grandson Anthony to class who was 6 yrs old at the time. Taekwondo Cronulla has some mixed aged sessions and I had noticed that some of the Mothers of my grandson’s friends who were aged in their mid 30’s had began to train and were really enjoying themselves. Around this time my Doctor was very concerned about my health as I suffer from diabetes and chronic arthritis. It was critical for me to lose some weight and fast. So I thought if those ladies can do Taekwondo then so can I. Luckily, the instructors at Taekwondo Cronulla are very kind and patient and they were - and still are behind me all the way. They give me lots of help and encouragement”.
“I train 3-4 times a week. Sometimes, I even do double sessions and train for over 2 hours a night. I can’t get enough of it”.
“Our club is a ‘Taekwondo family’ and I love the friendship and fun we have in class. I have a lot of responsibility with my family and our business and I can get quite stressed out. When I am at training I forget about all my problems and stress and afterwards I feel young and invigorated. My Doctor is now amazed at my fitness level and how much weight I have lost and has warned me to never stop Taekwondo training. There are no worries about that because I am committed in getting my black belt and going beyond that”.
“I love it all. However, I must say I love board breaking the best. Free sparring comes a close second. I find learning the Terminology and passing my Head Instructor’s terminology quizzes the most difficult part”.
“I have been in a few regional comps and one State comp. I’ve entered board breaking, Poomsae, self defence and one sparring competition where I had to fight a lady 30 years my junior. It was a close result and I was pleased that I was able to score some good points. I think competition Taekwondo is very exciting. In most comps I have been the oldest competitor and in all comps I’ve been in I am the oldest woman competitor by far”.
"Taekwondo training is my ‘fountain of youth’. Also, as I mentioned Taekwondo training has done wonders for my arthritis and my weight problem. I feel fit within myself and my confidence has never been higher in my life. My knowledge of self defence has improved in a major way and I definitely know that I will be a lot better off if I am ever attacked in the street. Those nasty muggers will not be expecting a little old lady like me to give them a mighty batangson chigi on the nose or a kal jebi to the throat!!! (lots of laughs).
If you are a female or know of a female in Taekwondo, who is a great advocate for women in sport, then we would love to know!
Please send information and contact details to me.
If your submission is chosen, we'll feature it on our site.
Kerry Lister who has been an outstanding referee for many years is the first person to be awarded a Taekwondo Referee Scholarship from the Australian Sports Commission.
Kerry was thrilled when notified of her success with her application to win an officiating scholarship from the Australian Sports Commission. The scholarship is worth in the vicinity of $4,000 for 2005.
The one year program set for her scholarship will allow Kerry to develop her refereeing skills further in Australia, gaining more experience in the supervision of lesser experienced referees at tournaments and assisting in presenting referee education courses. She has been given a project to review and implement a framework to increase the profile of women in Taekwondo refereeing and to increase recruitment of women referees. If it all falls in place, she should be looking forward to her first stint as an international referee at a WTF sanctioned international event in 2005.
"When I submitted my application, I didn't hold much hope of success, as it was the first time Australian Taekwondo referees were given the opportunity to do so. I learnt that there were 29 applications from 23 national sporting organisations who applied. My thanks to the efforts of Kim Seng, caretaker National Referee Chairman, who made this possible through his vision, steadfast support and efforts”, beamed a very cheerful Kerry.
Kerry Lister has been a very dedicated referee, having planted her first footsteps in becoming a referee almost 15 years ago. The unification of Taekwondo sport back in 1995 really kick started her involvement as a referee, and she has not looked back since. She would be one of the few women referees in Australia who regularly fronts up to both National and State level tournaments and high performance program simulation sessions over the last few years. She would be a worthwhile role model not only for the women referees but also for the aspiring women in sport who may want to become referees in Taekwondo sport. She has recently gained international referee qualifications in August 2003 (Korea) and she should be on the verge of her first senior duty as an international referee at a sanctioned international event soon. She helps her husband Rob in running their Taekwondo club in Queensland, herself, a 5th dan black belt. She has qualifications as a 1st class national referee, NCAS level 2 coaching general principles and level 2 sports trainer. She had officiated in Malaysia and had been a chaperone for the Australian junior team to the world junior championships in Crete, Greece. She is also the Queensland Referee Board Secretary since 2000.
" I am thrilled for Kerry for gaining this inaugural officials’ scholarship for Taekwondo sport. We submitted two applications and getting one is satisfying, two would have been nice. Kerry would play an important part as a role model not only for the women referees but also as a role model for women sport. I look forward being her mentor to help her develop her leadership skills further in Australia and help her develop as a fine referee on the international scene. She has the dedication to fulfil her scholarship program.” said Kim Seng.
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