New Zealand Selection Trials for Oceania Championships

The 2nd annual WTF Oceania Taekwondo Championships will be held in Auckland on the 26th August marking the first ever WTF sanctioned international event of it’s kind ever to be held in New Zealand.

The WTF recognized national member association ‘Taekwondo New Zealand’ (TNZ), held it’s selection trials for the Oceania Championships in Dunedin on the 10th June right in the middle of a freezing cold winter blast that was gripping the country at the time. Run in conjunction with the South Island Championships TNZ hosted over 30 top senior Taekwondo players who competed in the five male and female weight categories to be contested at the Oceania Championships.

While the countryside was freezing up outside, the action inside was hot and the National Selectors were very pleased with the competitiveness of the players and the improved standard of fighting. Junior players had already been selected based on the selection trial results for the New Zealand Junior Representative team already in preparation for the upcoming WTF Junior World Championships. So it was over to the senior players to prove their worth and fight for a position on the hotly contested New Zealand Team.

TNZ in conjunction with the Oceania Taekwondo Union (O.T.U.) is committed to the development of the Olympic Sport of Taekwondo in the Oceania region and 14 countries will send full squads to the Oceania Championships in August.

Each country will enter two players in each weight category in both the senior and junior divisions so it is expected that there will be up to 250 players at the Oceania Championships. The results of the New Zealand selection trials held on the 10th June are as follows: –

Mens Heavyweight Over 82Kgs   (Region)
1) Michael Marsh           Auckland
2) Dafydd Sanders           Auckland
3) Hayden Fraser           Waikato

Mens Middleweight 72><82Kgs
1) Stephen Rickard           Wellington
2) Carl Van Roon           Auckland
3) Nick Barret           Bay of Plenty

Mens Lightweight 63><72 Kgs
1) Logan Campbell           Auckland
2) Alan Brian               Christchurch
3) Andrew Brooks           Wellington

Mens Bantamweight 54><63Kgs
1) Malcolm Tester           Wellington
2) Sanjesh Singh           Auckland
3) Arman Abdi           Wellington

Womens Heavyweight Over 68 Kgs
1) Hope Fairless           Auckland
2) Nikki Miller           Auckland
3) Kathy Bell               Auckland

Womens Middleweight 61><68 Kgs
1) Farah Robinson Wellington

Womens Lightweight 54><61Kgs
1) Eleanor Currie           Bay of Plenty
2) Aroha Miller           Christchurch
3) Rebecca Waru           Auckland

Womens Bantamweight 47><54 Kgs
1) Leanne Stoutley           Auckland
2) Miwah Van           Auckland
3) Lauren Russell           Otago

Womens Finweight Under 47Kgs
1) Andrea Kilday Auckland

Photos from the Selection Trials

Photos courtesy of Antony Lyon, [email protected]

Diana Kasad of (St Lukes) Thwarts Miwah Van's (Alliance) spinning back kick attempt – Womens Bantam Weight division 47-54 KG semi final

Miwah Van heads toward the floor

Amanda Ah-Chong (Invercargill) utilises her flexibility to lift an outer crescent kick at Tracey Coleman (Wellington) during fight two of the Woman's Lightweight Division 54-61KG)

Alliance's Nicki Miller delivers a well-timed round hit to the head of Kathy Bell (Auckland) during fight one of the Women's Heavy Weight Division 68KG+

Sanjesh Singh (Alliance) mis-judged the moment and a hook kick to the family jewels from Desmond Allen of St Lukes – fight one Mens Batam Weight Division 54-63KG