National Poomsae Championships 2024

The 2024 British Taekwondo National Championships, held on 2nd-3rd November in Kettering, Northamptonshire, proved to be a remarkable event for Dorset Taekwondo Association.

With over 25 athletes competing, the club delivered an outstanding performance, securing a total of 23 medals across a variety of categories. This impressive tally included 7 Gold, 4 Silver, and 11 Bronze medals.

Achieving 6^th place on Sunday and 8th place overall. In the highly competitive field, this is a significant accomplishment and reflects the ongoing progress and development of the club. This success demonstrates the dedication and hard work of all our athletes, coaches, and supporters.

We are particularly proud to highlight our individual National Champions:

• Lydia Dmochowska (U45 2nd Senior Female K)
• Isabel Richinson (Cadet Female K3)
• Amber Isaacs (Cadet Female K2)
• Brooke Kirlew (U17 Female Freestyle)

Angailika – our 3^rd Dan experienced coach and athlete – said, ‘Saturday went really well, everyone was so supportive and positive on the day despite some technical issues.’

‘Everyone performed to a high standard and lots of lessons learnt in preparations for future competitions’

These exceptional performances demonstrate the high level of talent within the club and the continued growth of Dorset Taekwondo Association on a national level. Well done all, keep training hard!

If you are interested in exploring our Development Pathway Poomsae classes or would like to participate in a poomsae competition, please speak with any of our coaches. As we look ahead to our 2025 calendar, we are excited about the opportunities and success that lie ahead for the club. We encourage all members to challenge themselves and get involved in the upcoming events and activities.

(Click on a photo to enlarge)

An anecdote of the day from Sean Hooper!

Walking into the Arena, there was a tangible air of anticipation and excitement. We had got there early, as Inara was due in near the beginning, so she needed to warm up and practice with her pair partner (who she’d never met) and her team. It was great to pair up with someone from another club, as everyone within the Taekwondo fraternity is so supportive and friendly.

After a few practices’ patterns, Inara then trained with Savannah and Emily (her DTA teammates). Due to start times varying on each court, it was a tense time working out which way round the categories would start, but the pairs ended up being on first. Inara and her partner performed really well, and scored high, but the competition was fierce, and they ended up with a bronze medal in fourth place. The girls’ team were then on, and performed extremely well in a very competitive group, winning third place. The coaches were rushed off their feet in the first hour or two, as many of our team were on consecutively across the arena and did an outstanding job of getting everyone where they needed to be, and when they needed to be there. Their support of every member was amazing, and everyone knew where they needed to always be (despite regular court changes!). There was a long wait for the next event for Inara, and so we were able to watch many of the other players competing across categories. When it came to the girls competing in the individuals, the group was of a very high standard, but even so, all three moved on to the next round. The results were Emily (3rd place), Inara joint fifth, and Savannah in 7th place – a brilliant result for the club, and testament to the hard work and commitment of the girls and coaches. As a more mature player, I was on later in the day, so in the meantime was luckily able to watch other team members achieve gold medals in a number of events! I knew all but one of my group from other competitions, and GB regional squad training, and there is always a real camaraderie, respect and friendly competition between us all. I was happy to come in third position after two very accomplished players. Our final event was the family teams. We knew that we’d be competing against a large category, with club coaches from around the country in attendance with their families. This is the second year of us participating in this category, and we like to do it as a family bonding experience! Watching the other families perform was great and chatting to a number that we had met before, everyone was welcoming and respectful.
The whole day was exciting, stressful, tiring and entirely rewarding.
There were too many incredible club performances, and everyone should be proud of their achievements. I would also like to take time to thank the supporters who came along, including the Dan grades, who could have gone home, but stayed to support the Kup grades.
Finally, the day couldn’t have happened, let alone been so successful without the tireless support, training and encouragement of the club coaches. All your efforts are always appreciated!