Championships

2026 NCTA National Collegiate and High School Championships to be held in Chapel Hill, NC on April 24-26

2 months
by in Announcements, Championships

NCTA is pleased to announce that the 2026 National Collegiate and High School Taekwondo Championships will be held on Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26 at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at Woollen Gymnasium, hosted by the Carolina Taekwondo Club. This event is planned to be a 10.0 USATKD sanctioned event for the collegiate championship divisions, with those collegiate championship divisions also serving as a qualifier for the USATKD National Championships analogous to the USATKD State Championships.

The tournament will begin with all collegiate and high school poomsae, breaking and demo team competition on Friday, all collegiate and high school championship individual sparring on Saturday, and the 3 v. 3 format NCTA Cup event on Sunday. As in past years, collegiate taekwondo clubs will vie for the chance to become national champions in the Overall (Brown & UT Austin defending champions), Black Belt (MIT & UC Davis defending champions) and Color belt (UT Austin defending champions) divisions. Those participating on Sunday will be competing to win the newly minted traveling NCTA Cup (Northeastern University defending champions).

Said NCTA President Dan Chuang, “NCTA has been consistently setting records for attendance each year for the past several years at our national events, and I expect these championships to be no different. In particular, NCTA now sanctions well over 10 collegiate tournaments per year, so we expect that momentum to carry through to our national championships. I can’t wait to see all of the athletes competing with pride representing their colleges.”

As announced earlier, the 2026 NCTA Team Trials for the FISU America Games will be a separate event held on April 3 in conjunction with the CUTA California State Championships, and should not be confused with the 2026 National Collegiate and High School Championships.

Information will be posted as it becomes available on the NCTA Championships page.

2025 NCTA Championships Concludes In Marlborough, MA

11 months
by in Championships

Marlborough, MA, April 13, 2025 – In another record-setting year, the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) welcomed 712 athletes from 184 unique schools to the 2025 National Collegiate and High School Championships. Combined with the team trials held in March, 820 athletes competed at the NCTA national events. “This marks the third consecutive year with record numbers at NCTA events,” said NCTA President Dan Chuang. “I was also thrilled so see the inauguration of our 3v3 NCTA Cup, the culmination of 3v3 events held all around the country last year in our new regional conferences.” The event was hosted by Northeastern University and was held at the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough, MA.

In the NCTA National Collegiate Championships, the Championship Division was won by Brown University and the University of Texas, Austin, in a tie for first place. Third place was won by Northeastern University. The Black Belt Division was won in a tie between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Davis and third place won by Brown University. The Color Belt Division was won by the University of Austin, Texas, with Brown University taking second place and Northeastern University taking third.

The female athlete of the year was Hannah Keck of the University of Texas, Austin, and the male athlete of the year was William Smith III of the University of California, Los Angeles. The freshman of the year award went to Bomin Kim of the University of California, San Diego. The female poomsae athlete of the year was Sharlene Duong of UCLA, and the male poomsae athlete of the year was Brian Meagher of Northeastern University. The coach of the year was Sung Park of Brown University.

The NCTA Cup division was held on Sunday, April 13. Athletes who competed throughout the year at regional NCTA events came together to vie to take the home the NCTA Cup. The NCTA Cup was won by Northeastern University who took first place as a team. Second place was won by U. Texas, Austin, and third place was from MIT. 298 athletes from 27 schools participated in the NCTA 3v3 Cup division.

NCTA 2025 Collegiate and High School Championships To Be Held on April 11-13 in Marlborough, MA

1 year
by in Announcements, Championships

The NCTA is pleased to announce that the 2025 National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships and the 2025 NCTA National High School Championships will take place on Apr. 11-13, 2025 in Marlborough, MA at the Royal Plaza Trade Center. The Championships will also host the poomsae team trials on April 11 for the 2025 Summer World University Games to be held in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany on July 16-27. The sparring team trials for the Summer World University Games will be held in Texas on March 16. Acting as the host school will be Northeastern University’s Taekwondo Club.

Check the NCTA Championships website for a day-by-day event schedule, and for more information as it becomes available.

2024 NCTA Championships Coverage with BallerTV

2 years
by in Championships

Dear NCTA Community,

The National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) is thrilled to announce our partnership with BallerTV to bring you full, high-quality, live-stream coverage of this year’s NCTA Championships at UC Berkeley!

We invite you and others from all over the world to pilot BallerTV’s streaming of the NCTA Championships from the comfort of your homes. We know the cost of travel can make it difficult for teams to bring everyone they would like to. That’s why the NCTA is bringing quality action to you, so that you, your teammates, and family members back home can support your favorite athletes and universities in real-time.

Access to the live-stream for the entire weekend will require an event pass priced at $40. This will enable you to not only watch all three-days of action in real-time in every ring, but also to access the full recording afterwards to replay your favorite moments and create highlights via BallerTV’s AI technology.

Access high-quality, live-streaming on BallerTV’s event page: https://www.ballertv.com/events/2024-ncta-national-collegiate-and-high-school-championships 

BallerTV is a leader in sports broadcasting with expertise showcasing many different sports. We are excited to collaborate with them to bring high-definition, collegiate taekwondo action to more eyes. Don’t miss out – mark your calendars, purchase your event pass, and grab some popcorn!

Best regards,

NCTA

Announcement of the 2024 NCTA High School Championship Excellence Scholarship

2 years
by in Announcements, Championships

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:

  1. Currently enrolled in high school
  2. 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.
  1. Must hold rank of Black Belt

Application Process

  1. Submission of a video application explaining how you are using the lessons from taekwondo to better your local community. Consider including: 
    1. What achievements are you most proud of, and why?
    2. Describe a time you demonstrated leadership through Taekwondo
    3. What are you looking forward to most about continuing Taekwondo in college?
  2. Submission of proof of participation in the NCTA High School Championship 
  3. 2 letters or videos of recommendations (minimally one recommendation from Taekwondo)
  4. Submission of a current unofficial transcript

Application Instructions

To complete your application for the scholarship, please complete the two steps below.

  1. Submit your video application to this Google Form.
    1. Applicants should upload their video applications to YouTube.
      1. Set up an account on Youtube.com
      2. Click on “Create” → “Upload video”.
      3. 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”
      4. For Visibility, Save or publish the video as “Unlisted”.
      5. Save the video and copy the Video Link to include in your Google Form response.
  2. Email the following to ncta.contact@gmail.com:
    1. Proof of participation in the 2024 NCTA High School Championship
      1. PDF of email confirmation of registration for the 2024 NCTA High School Championship
    2. 2 letters or videos of recommendations
      1. Letters must be in PDF format and attached to your email.
      2. Video recommendations may be included as links or attachments in your email.
    3. Current unofficial transcript

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.

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