PHILPSBURG—Taking a group of athletes to an international tournament is no easy task. Forget the additional hours of training needed to prepare a team, or raising the funds to travel, or the hours spent checking all the travel documents. The real concern is the safety of the group while traveling.
Tae kwon do has a few extra concerns. First it is a contact sport so the risk of injury is real. Tae kwon do is an individual sport so more than one athlete may be competing at the same time.
Grand Master Theo Liu believes all athletes should travel. His teams consistently range from beginner to advanced. This weekend the a group of 25 athletes age six to 47 will compete in the 23rd Puerto Rico International Tae kwon do Open Championship.
To support a group this big the St. Maarten King Yen School takes along a delegation of 17 adults.
First is Grand Master, he is the head coach. He is assisted by coaches Rodney Washington and Paulien Vuijst who is also the team’s physical therapist.
Anand Raghosing serves as the team’s doctor while Sharon Washington and Betty Liu are the coordinators.
There are nine team officials including Eugene Juliana, Perry Narduci, Sheena Rey, Gracia Mathew, Kendall Mathew, Naomi Harriet, Cheryl Sorton, Taofik Azbouni and Georgina Pantophlet.
The team also travels with two photographers, Leopold Gumbs and Rodney Richardson.
Grand Master Liu has been taking teams to both regional and international competitions for decades.
“We want to give our St. Maarten student athletes the opportunity to acquire international experience. This is a once in a life time opportunity and will serve as an unforgettable and tremendous experience for them,” said Liu.
Countries expected to field teams at the Championship include Aruba, Barbados, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, St. Croix, St. Thomas, United States, Surinam, Venezuela and host Puerto Rico.
St. Maarten under the direction of the Grand master will be recognized at this year’s tournament and will receive the Outstanding International Team Award.
