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NCTA Announces Launch of National High School Varsity League
3 weeks
by NCTA Admin
in Uncategorized
Oct 6, 2026 -The NCTA is pleased to announce the creation of the NCTA National High School and Middle School Varsity Leagues. The purpose of these leagues is to provide competitive opportunities to scholar athletes during these academic years, offer support to high performing scholars and athletes through scholarships, and create a smooth on-ramp to collegiate taekwondo programs nationwide as they move towards their college years.
Leading this initiative will be the new NCTA National High School Administrator, Master Sunny Woo Park. Master Park will appoint state administrators who will run annual state and regional middle and high school varsity championships, culminating in a national middle and high school championship.
To inaugurate the initiative, a national NCTA High School Championships event was held on June 13, 2026 in Freehold, NJ. The championship awarded $12,000 in scholarships to deserving high school student-athletes. These scholarships reflected the mission of the event: investing in education, building future leaders, and celebrating excellence on and off the competition floor.
“The NCTA National High School Championships is about more than competition,” said Sunny Woo Park of Master Park’s Black Belt America. “It is about investing in the future of our student-athletes. These young men and women represent what taekwondo is truly about: discipline, education, leadership, character, and excellence in life.”
In 2027, middle and high school athletes can look forward to over 15 states that will offer NCTA Announces National High School Varsity League championships, culminating in a National Middle and High School Varsity Championship. Check the varsity league page for more updates.
Justin Faiferlick – Former NCTA Vice President passes
8 months
by Catherine Tong
in Uncategorized
The NCTA would like to express its sorrow at the passing of current NCTA officer and past NCTA Vice President, Justin Faiferlick, who passed away on March 7 after a three-year battle with cancer. As Vice President, Coach Faiferlick served as Manager of the USA National Collegiate Taekwondo Team at the Summer World University Games. He also instituted the NCTA Academic All-American Program, which recognized taekwondo athletes with outstanding grades. Master Faiferlick was the head coach of the Iowa Central College Taekwondo program and a contant presence at NCTA events.
Said NCTA President, Dan Chuang, “Coach Faiferlick was an amazing individual who embodied the principles of service, excellence and selflessness. He was so competent and willing to help wherever needed, whether on-site at a national team event, pitching in to manage registration at a national championship, or coaching many outstanding athletes. I deeply appreciate his contributions to collegiate taekwondo. His presence will be sorely missed.”
The NCTA community extends its condolences to his family during this difficult time. Master Faiferlick obituary.
Menlo College Adds Taekwondo As Varsity Sport, Scholarships Offered
2 years
by NCTA Admin
in Uncategorized
Menlo College in the San Francisco Bay Area has announced that it is adding men’s and women’s taekwondo as a varsity sport. Menlo College is an accredited private college specializing in business and located in Atherton, California. 53% of its students are athletes.
Said Keith Spataro, Vice President for Athletics at Menlo College, “We will offer athletic scholarships and have a full-time coach. Being a part of our taekwondo program not only provides the opportunity to pursue a degree (Majors) but also offers a chance to develop leadership skills, discipline, and a strong sense of community. We are actively looking for seniors in high school who wish to pursue a degree and be a scholarship athlete. If you have students in your program who want to pursue this, please have them visit our website Menlo Athletics and complete the form on this link Apply NOW. We are thrilled to be uniquely positioning ourselves by offering this fantastic sport.”
For more information, please contact Tim Ghormley, Assistant Director of Athletics for Non-NCAA Sports at Menlo College at tim.ghormley@menlo.edu.
Dan Chuang Re-Elected NCTA President
3 years
by NCTA Admin
in Uncategorized
Congratulations to Dan Chuang, who was re-elected NCTA president on April 14, 2023 by unanimous vote at the NCTA General Assembly in Boulder, CO. President Chuang saw the collegiate taekwondo community through the pandemic, creating a series of online taekwondo events that kept collegiate clubs engaged and active, returning to in-person competitions in 2022 and record collegiate taekwondo competition attendance numbers in 2023. Chuang led two USA teams in international competition, one to the 2019 Summer Universiade in Naples, Italy, and the other to the 2022 FISU America Games in Merida, Mexico.
Chuang said, “I’m grateful for the trust and support of our collegiate leaders. I look forward to growing a national infrastructure for collegiate taekwondo, achieving our best performance as a country in international university competitions, and growing the next generation of taekwondo leaders. Thank you to everyone who supported NCTA during these challenging years!”
NCTA General Assembly Minutes
5 years
by NCTA Admin
in Uncategorized
The NCTA General Assembly was held on April 1, 2022 in Marlborough, MA at the 2022 National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships. Click here for the meeting minutes.
