The Malta Taekwondo Federation have once again brought home a gold medal after successfully participating among other sports federations chosen by the MOC for this year event of the Mediterranean Friendship Games held in Marsala, Sicily.
 
The Taekwondo contingent of national athletes was made up of Mr Josef Spiteri 24years Senior category -68kgs and Ms Kimberly Meli 15years – 55 kgs supported by Mr Brian Saliba as National Coach.
The draws and results were the following :
 
Female category -59kgs
Alessandra Prestigiacomo ( Sicily) vs      Kimberly Meli ( Malta )   8 – 14
Gabriella Ferrara ( Sicily)               vs      Kimberly Meli ( Malta )   8 -  17
 
Male category   - 68 Kgs
Francesco Cappellano ( Sicily)       vs      Josef Spiteri  ( Malta )      15 – 5
Davide Avena ( Sicily )                  vs      Josef Spiteri  ( Malta )      15 - 8
 
The bouts were held at Mazzara Del Vallo in an open venue which had the support also of the local Sicilian population.
 
Ms Kimberly Meli started the match against Ms Alessandra Prestigiacomo winning 14-8 and later won again against Gabriella Ferrara with an outstanding point aggregate of 17-8
Although technically Ms Alessandra Prestigiacomo looked superior and was of a heavier weight  than Ms Kimberly Meli,the promising maltese athlete managed to win both fights and a well deserved Gold medal.
At the end of the tournament she was also congratulated by the Sicilian coach Mr Antonio Cutugno.
 
Mr Josef Spiteri although well prepared for this tournament found a much tougher opponent for his first bout. Mr Francesco Cappelanno is well known in sicily and he won tournaments at European level.
At the start of the first round Josef was hit by a counterkick towards his middle section which forced him into a 1 minute recovery time.This hampered him for the rest of the bouts but unfortunately lost them both although Josef did his best to recover some needed points.
 
This participation was made possible through thanks to the continuous efforts of the MTF President Mr Stephen Formosa & PRO Mr Joseph Azzopardi to organize this event with the Sicilian taekwondo federation, the rigorous training of both athletes and the National Coach Mr Brian Saliba and also the golden opportunity given to us by the MOC.
 
 
Report : Mr Joseph Azzopardi  PRO

On Wednesday 8 July 2009, the Malta Taekwondo Federation with the initiative of the National Coach, Mr. Brian Saliba and the PRO, Mr. Joseph Azzopardi, invited Ms. Adele Muscat, Sports Psychologist and Dr. Maistre Mellilo (Medicine Doctor) for a talk.

This was mainly aimed to the athletes that are going to participate in the UK Open Championship during 11-12 July 2009; however invitation was opened to all clubs’ instructors and assistant instructors. A very good turnout attended the session.

Ms. Muscat emphasized on the mental preparation of the athlete that should have before, during and after the competition. She also pointed out the outcome towards the athlete that the coach, parents and spouses should have during this delicate time.

Dr. Maistre Melillo discussed the current issue - the swine flu. She gave a brief about prevention.

The session was concluded by the National Coach and the President, Mr. Stephen Formosa where they have thanked the speakers and all present for attending. They have encouraged all present athletes for a memory experience and good results.

Report by : Josianne Formosa (Secretary General)

The Malta Taekwondo Federation held another National Kyorugi Competition in its calendar of events at St Martins College Gym on Sunday
17th May 2009. All the local Taekwondo clubs fielded their athletes for this competition with a large turnout of competitors in various weight and level categories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The outcome result was the following :

Pewee A (-31Kgs): Joel Genuis,
Pewee B (-25Kgs): Christian Camilleri,
Pewee B (-35Kgs): Lynsey Fenech 
Pewee C (-25Kgs): Chloe Vassallo 
Pewee C (-35Kgs): Megan Maistre Melillo
Cadet A (-45Kgs) : Bjorn Piscopo
Cadet A (-54Kgs) : Brandon Borg,
Cadet B (+58Kgs): Michael Baldacchino
Cadet B (-35Kgs): Edward Camilleri
Junior A (-51Kgs): Dylan Mc Cormick
Seniors A (-72Kgs): Josef Spiteri,
Seniors A (-63Kgs): Mauro Busuttil,
Seniors A (-78Kgs): Alex Attard

The MTF President Mr Stephen Formosa  presented trophies and certificates to the participants and congratulated the athletes on the good level and sportive spirit showed in this competition.
He thanked the parents and other members of MTF for their support and participation to make this event a successful one.
Mr Formosa concluded by mentioning the achievement of Dott Christopher Vella by winning a gold medal in Sardinia Taekwondo championships this month where he competed in a technical competition. He also wished good luck to the Taekwondo athletes that are to participate in the 12th British Open that will be held in London in July 2009.
After the presentation various training equipment was freely distributed to all registered Taekwondo clubs by the Malta Taekwondo Federation as an initiative to support the local clubs.
Josianne Formosa, Neville Desira, Brian Saliba, Stephen Formosa, Joseph Schembri and Joseph Azzopardi were presented with Dan certificates issued from the European Taekwondo Union as a gesture of solidarity.

Report by:Joseph Azzopardi (PRO)

Vella wins Gold in Sardinia Open

Christopher Vella, former president of the Maltese Taekwondo Federation currently residing in Luxembourg, has earned a gold medal in an international competition organised by the Sardinian Taekwondo Federation last Saturday (2nd May) in Olbia, Sardinia. Vella competed in the 31-40 age category in the technical competition organised in accordance with the WTF rules of this competition. His category was comprised of 6 athletes hailing from Sardinia, mainland Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg. The competition was comprised of 2 rounds of performances with Vella scoring over 9 points in both rounds, edging his contestants in both occasions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Malta Taekwondo Federation held a National Poomsae competition on 1st March 2009 at the St Martin’s College (SMC) Gym in Swatar.Present for this event was Mr Mark Cutajar, MOC Director of Sports who explained that it was in this very gym at SMC that he started his career of teaching sports. Mr Cutajar also mentioned the importance to take sports seriously and that it also entails sacrifices to achieve good performances and results.

After the competition, Mr Stephen Formosa President of the Malta Taekwondo Federation thanked Mr Mark Cutajar for his presence and all the athletes for the sportsmanship and the good level shown during this event. Also, he mentioned the initiatiave taken on a club level by Birzebbugia Taekwondo Club where this club participated with Ms. Maria Minuti and Mr. Dennis Cilia in the Poomsae Championships held in Sindelfingen- Germany during December 2008. They won bronze and gold respectively.

The Malta Taekwondo Federation honoured Dr Chris Vella who was the former MTF President as a Hononary President for his dedication and continuous support to the local Taekwondo. He was presented with a memento for his participation in the 3rd World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Turkey being the first time that the MTF has participate in such a big event. During his 1 week stay in Malta. Dr. Vella conducted 2 seminars where he updated the local practitioners with new updates regarding the development of the Poomsae, where he even shared his experience of his participation in the world championships.

Mr. Joseph Azzopardi supported our two elite athletes, Kimberly Meli and Josef Spiteri with a DaeDo Taekwondo uniform each.

Winners in each category :

Pewee A Class Sharelle Zammit
Pewee B Class Duncan Munro
Pewee C Class Luanne Grima
Junior A Class Dylan McCormick
Junior B Class Bjorn Piscopo
Junior C Class Brandon Borg
Senior A Class Maria Minuti
Senior B Class Irina Atanasova
Senior C Class Francis Pardew

The event was concluded by the presentation of certificates of participation and trophies.

3rd WORLD POOMSAE CHAMPIONSHIPS - TURKEY

Malta has participated in the 3rd World Championships of Taekwondo Poomsae (Technical competition) held in Ankara, Turkey. The Malta Taekwondo Federation has been represented by Christopher Vella who competed in the Senior 2 Category (31-40 years). Vella was eliminated in the preliminary round when he scored 7.26 points for his performance. He was close to reaching the semi-final round, needing only 0.31 points in order to reach the competitors making it to the semi-final stage. Although Taekwondo poomsae (technical form) as a competitive event has long been organised in Europe by the European Taekwondo Union, it has only recently been adopted by the World Taekwondo Federation on a global scale. Both of the first two editions of this competition have been held in Korea and this was the first edition organised outside Korea.

TAEKWONDO NATIONAL TEAM IN BRITISH INTERNATIONAL OPEN

The Malta Taekwondo Federation National Elite Athletes competed in the 11th UTF British International Open held in London on the 11th July 2008.

The National team comprised of Mr Brian Saliba as National Coach, and two athletes namely the experienced Josef Spiteri of Dragon Taekwondo Club and Kimberly Meli a young promising athlete of St Martins Taekwondo Academy.

Josef Spiteri took part in the Seniors 'A' Class -67Kg (Male)and Kimberly in the Juniors 'B' Class -63kg (female) Both athletes monitored their weight accordingly as in fact resulted on the official day of weigh-in.

Kimberly Meli,aged 14years started her International bout on Saturday 12 July and her category meant that she could be up against athletes from the age of 14 to 17. In her first match she came up against a british athlete and although still lacking international competitive experience,Kimberly performed well holding her opponent to a 2-2 draw but unfortunatly in the last round lost with"sudden death" system that meant who scored the first point in the bout be declared the winner.

On Sunday it was Joseph’s turn. His experience in this field clearly showed both pre and during the competition bouts. Joseph was able to maintain that spirit throughout the bouts and was able to win his first two matches but lost narrowly in the third match against Turkey in the semi-finals earning Joseph a well deserved bronze medal.

The Malta Taekwondo Federation held the National Kyurugi Competition on Sunday 8th June 2008 at St Martins College in Swatar and athletes from all the local taekwondo clubs participated in this event.

The winners of this competition were:
Pewee section :Lynsey Fenech,Sharell Zammit & Joel Genuis, Cadets section : Bradley Desira & Jamie Maistre Melillo, Juniors section : Jessica Muscat, Seniors section : Jonathan Aristhene.

This event came to a close by an exibition bout between MTF National athlete Kimberly Meli & Jonathan Aristhene.

The President Mr Stephen Formosa thanked the MTF Committee & judges for the organisation & commented favourably about the good level & fighting spirit shown by the athletes in this event.