ST. PETERS--St. Maarten will be represented at the 27th Puerto Rico International Taekwondo Open Championships this weekend.
Eight athletes from the King Yen Taekwondo School under the guidance of Grandmaster Theo Liu have been selected to join nearly 300 regional and international competitors from Columbia, Dominican Republic, St. Croix, United States and host Puerto Rico in the Open.
Making Team St. Maarten are Rique-Lee Rosalia, Jordan Frederick, Chardinae Van Heyningen, Bengt Toss and Kimar Persaud in the youth division and in the senior group are Paulien Vuijst, Danny Acosta, and Audrey van de Riet.
The team will be supported by Head Coach Grandmaster Theo Liu, and officials Shervin Frederick, Kumar Persaud and Makini Persaud. Vuijst when not competing will also serve as team therapist and coach.
Team St. Maarten is set to fly out Friday and return home Monday.
“Our excellent international tournament accomplishments in the past years have earned another invitation for the St. Maarten team,” said Master Liu.
It is an honour to again attend the Puerto Rico Taekwondo Open that was founded and organized by Master Bill Zafiropoulos.”
While the athletes trained hard in preparation for the open, the trip almost did not happen. First Puerto Rico experienced a series of earthquakes near the competition facility in San German. More recent many international sporting events are being cancelled due to the Coronavirus.
“We want to give our young athletes the opportunity to acquire international experience,” said Master Liu. “The open will serve as an unforgettable and tremendous experience for them. When they return home, they will be different athletes with high spirit and discipline.”
