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USA Team Finishes 2nd Overall at 2024 FISU America Games
The NCTA USA National Collegiate Taekwondo Team competed at the 2024 FISU America Games from November 8 to November 10th in Cali, Colombia. Nineteen NCTA athletes represented the Uni-USA Team with a 2nd place overall finish among all countries in competition. The team earned 20 medals, including 5 Gold, 6 Silver, and 9 Bronze medals.
Congratulations to all athletes, coaches, and staff for a stellar week of competition! Thank you, also, to the families and friends who traveled with the team and provided on-the-ground support.
Full list of athletes’ results are below:
Poomsae Athletes
Female Individual Kaitlyn Reclusado (Skyline College) – BRONZE
Male Individual Gavin Zhao (Cornell University) – BRONZE
Mixed Pair Kaitlyn Reclusado (Skyline College), Gavin Zhao (Cornell University) – GOLD
Male Team Ryan Real (University of Pennsylvania), Gavin Zhao (Cornell University), Brandon Cho (UCLA) – GOLD
More pictures here
Female Sparring Athletes
-46kg Auryon Duque (Los Angeles Pierce College) – SILVER
-49kg Amber Avroya (Broward College) – SILVER
-53kg Kayla Shanahan (Queens College) – SILVER
-57kg Bella Morrissey (Grand Canyon University) – BRONZE
-62kg Jessica Gniedziejko (Bard College) – GOLD
-67kg Anna McGrade (Cornell University)- BRONZE
+73kg Naqiya Caderbhoy (Moorpark College) – SILVER
Female Team Sparring
Anna McGrade (Cornell University), Jessica Gniedziejko (Bard College), Kayla Shanahan (Queens College), Amber Avroya (Broward College) – BRONZE
More pictures here
Male Sparring Athletes
-54kg Zardo Villanueva (Mount San Jacinto College) – BRONZE
-58kg Alejandro Rayas (University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley) – BRONZE
-63kg Ian Hong (Rutgers University) – BRONZE
-68kg Jason Lee (University of Michigan) – SILVER
-74kg Fergus Curran (Edmonds College) – BRONZE
-80kg Aidan Chan (University of Virginia) – GOLD
-87kg William Smith III (UCLA) – GOLD
+87kg Luis Espinosa (Broward College) – SILVER
Male Team Sparring
William Smith III (UCLA), Aidan Chan (University of Virginia), Zardo Villanueva (Mount San Jacinto College), Alejandro Rayas (University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley) – QUARTERFINALS
More pictures here
Management Team & Coaches
Daniel Chuang, NCTA President
Sung Kim, Team Director/Head of Team
Sherri Lashomb, Team Doctor
David Lee, Head Sparring Coach
Russell Beneby, Sparring Coach
Cheyenne Lewis, Sparring Coach
Fabricio Rodriguez, Sparring Coach
Catherine Tong, Poomsae Coach/Team Manager
Announcing the NCTA Regional Conferences Initiative!
Dear NCTA Coaches and Athletes:
I am so pleased and excited to introduce the NCTA Regional Conferences initiative! Six regional conferences are being recognized and organized around the United States and will provide more opportunities than ever before for college students to compete and grow as athletes and leaders.
Participation in the regional conferences will qualify collegiate athletes for a new additional division at the NCTA Championships, the NCTA Team Championships. This division will see athletes competing to take home a traveling cup, the new NCTA Cup, which will reside with the winning Team Division school each year.
Thank you to the hard work of our regional conference leads: Casey Denham (Mid-Atlantic/ACATA), Haksung Kim (Pacwest), David Lee (Midwest), Sung Park (Northeast/ECTC), Catherine Tong (Pacific Northwest), and Joseph Van (South), and to our hardworking NCTA Tournament Committee Chair Tara Sarathi for spearheading this effort.
You should all be receiving more communication soon about upcoming events, but feel free to reach out to ncta.contact@gmail.com for more information at any time.
Best,
Dan Chuang
President, NCTA
2024 FISU America Games Coaching Application
The NCTA is now accepting applications for coaches for the 2024 FISU America Games (collegiate Pan American multi-sport games) from Nov. 4-11, 2024 in Cali, Colombia. Applications can be submitted below and are due by Monday, June 17.
https://forms.gle/zLAXbhJ4ftMTZA2W8
Details of the trip are in the application.
Announcement of the 2024 NCTA High School Championship Excellence Scholarship
The National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) is excited to announce the NCTA High School Championship Excellence Scholarship. This award aims to recognize and reward outstanding achievements in taekwondo among high school athletes.
Purpose and goals of the scholarship:
The scholarship program aims to support the continued pursuit of excellence in Taekwondo by high school athletes who reflect NCTA’s values, demonstrating exceptional sportsmanship, dedication, and achievement during their high school Taekwondo career.
Scholarship Details
Name of Scholarship: NCTA High School Excellence Scholarship
Amount: $500 per winner
Number of Winners: 2 (1 kyorugi athlete / 1 poomsae athlete)
Frequency: Awarded one time
Important Dates
Application deadline: April 6th, 2024 extended to April 19th, 2024
Announcement of winners will occur on April 13th, 2024
Eligibility Criteria
The following criteria must be met by the applicant to be considered eligible for the scholarship:
- Currently enrolled in high school
- Participation in the 2024 NCTA High School Championship
- High competitors in the High School Championship division must be born in the years 2005 through 2010 and be currently enrolled in high school.
- High school athletes must verify High School student status via the 2024 NCTA High School Eligibility Form and Email a clear photo or nctaeligibility@gmail.com by March 29, 2024.
- Must hold rank of Black Belt
Application Process
- Submission of a video application explaining how you are using the lessons from taekwondo to better your local community. Consider including:
- What achievements are you most proud of, and why?
- Describe a time you demonstrated leadership through Taekwondo
- What are you looking forward to most about continuing Taekwondo in college?
- Submission of proof of participation in the NCTA High School Championship
- 2 letters or videos of recommendations (minimally one recommendation from Taekwondo)
- Submission of a current unofficial transcript
Application Instructions
To complete your application for the scholarship, please complete the two steps below.
- Submit your video application to this Google Form.
- Applicants should upload their video applications to YouTube.
- Set up an account on Youtube.com
- Click on “Create” → “Upload video”.
- Title the video in the following format:
“[First Name Last Name] – 2024 NCTA High School Scholarship Application”
Example: “Jane Doe – 2024 NCTA High School Scholarship Application” - For Visibility, Save or publish the video as “Unlisted”.
- Save the video and copy the Video Link to include in your Google Form response.
- Applicants should upload their video applications to YouTube.
- Email the following to ncta.contact@gmail.com:
- Proof of participation in the 2024 NCTA High School Championship
- PDF of email confirmation of registration for the 2024 NCTA High School Championship
- 2 letters or videos of recommendations
- Letters must be in PDF format and attached to your email.
- Video recommendations may be included as links or attachments in your email.
- Current unofficial transcript
- Proof of participation in the 2024 NCTA High School Championship
Selection Process
A selection committee composed of the NCTA President and active coaches in the NCTA network will be formed to review all scholarship applications.
Criteria
Applicants will be evaluated based on their demonstration of sportsmanship, dedication, and achievements in Taekwondo.
Factors that will be considered include:
- Strength of the application
- NCTA High School Championship performance
- Strength of referrals
- Academic performance
Application announcement/submission period begins: March 15, 2024
Application deadline: April 6th, 2024 extended to April 19th, 2024
Application selection process begins: April 7th, 2024
Announcement of winners: April 13th, 2024
Award Announcement
Winners will be notified directly via email. Communications regarding award distribution will occur through direct correspondence with the winners.
Official announcements regarding the award will be shared on the NCTA website and through NCTA’s communication channels. Potential media coverage or press releases associated with the scholarship may apply.
Disbursement of Funds
After successful notification of a scholarship award and verification, NCTA will provide payment of the award to the recipient directly. Check back regularly for updates as more details become available.
Scholarship Renewal
The scholarship is not renewable for multiple years. Applicants may apply multiple times, though winners may only receive the scholarship once.
Terms and Conditions
Scholarship recipients are expected to adhere to the principles and values of the NCTA. If the recipients are found to have exhibited or demonstrated any actions or behaviors contrary to the principles and values of the NCTA, the selection committee may rescind the awards prior to distribution.
Any changes to scholarship details will be communicated in advance.
Contact Information
For inquiries related to the scholarship, contact:
Email: ncta.contact@gmail.com
Are scholarships from NCTA open to international or DACA students?
Our scholarships are currently open to U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and DACA recipients only.
About the NCTA:
The NCTA was formed in 1970 by a group of collegiate martial arts instructors. It works to promote Taekwondo in colleges and universities and to create a better understanding of the culture and philosophy of Taekwondo.
NCTA believes in academic improvement and social progress through Taekwondo. The organization serves to promote, foster, and diversify the experiences that can be obtained in colleges and universities by providing avenues for competition and education for collegiate athletes.
2024 NCTA Championships to Be Held at University of California Berkeley
The NCTA is pleased to announce that the 2024 NCTA National Collegiate and High School Championships will be held in Berkeley, CA at the University of California, Berkeley on the weekend of April 12-14.
Preliminary schedule information has been posted on the 2024 NCTA Championships page. Please check back regularly for more information as it becomes available.