Welcome to the Colorado State Taekwondo Association Website!

(COSTA), is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the development of all Taekwondo athletes in the state of Colorado.

 

COSTA Athlete Sponsored Team Trials to be held on Aug 7th at A-Team Taekwondo   (6813 S. Dayton St. Greenwood Village CO 80112)  Any Blackbelt Athlete who was on the 2009 COSTA Team and / or the 2009 AAU Team is eligible along with any Blackbelt that placed 1st or 2nd at any of the following events:

March 6th USAT National Qualifier, COSTA May 1st State Championship, May 22nd AAU State Championship

Most divisions will be combined to provide match experience for those representing the COSTA Team at the Rocky Mountain Open on Sept 3rd and 4th. We will be using the Lajust Scoring System so bring your Electronic Sock!  We will have a few in each size for sale at the event. There will be a Blackbelt Cadet Division (12 & 13) a Junior Blackbelt Division (14 to 17) and an Adult Blackbelt Division.  Winners will have their entry fee to the Rocky Mountain refunded by COSTA.  Refund checks will be given at the event to all athletes.  Furthermore any athlete that wins 1st place at the Rocky Mountain Open will receive a stipend if they decide to attend and register for the US Open in 2011, which will be held again in Las Vegas.  The amount of the stipend will be decided by the COSTA Board after the Rocky Mountain Open and results along with stipend amounts will be announced on this web page!  Colorado is TRULY moving forward with many GREAT programs which are yielding results at a National and International Stage!  Weigh ins will take place at A-Team TKD from 9a to 10a.  Matches will begin at 10am sharp with all weight divisions fighting mixed so you MUST be there early!  Spectator fees for anyone 5 and over is $5.  Coaches and Competing Athletes get in Free, no more than 2 Free Coaches per school.  Further questions should go to Master A  303-539-6990. To register for the COSTA Athlete Team Trials click on the following link.  www.a-team-rocks.com/costateamtrial.html

 

Congratulations to Johnny Kimmich for winning a Bronze Medal at the World Collegiate Championships!

Johnny Kimmich, who trains with Martinez Taekwondo is one of Colorado's MOST DEDICATED athletes and has a very promising career in Olympic Sparring Taekwondo!  He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Trainer and will soon be giving the COSTA athletes a seminar covering the benefits of combining strength and conditioning along with proper nutrition.  Clearly it is working for Johnny so keep an eye on this page and the google calendar for an upcoming date on this seminar! 

We also thank Sara Fossom for a stellar performance at Collegiate World Championships. Sara fought valiantly against Germany keeping the match tied up to the 3rd  round where she ultimately fell behind on the score. Sara trains at CU Boulder under Master Andre DeOlivera so expect GREAT RESULTS to keep coming from this team!

The USAT Athlete Development Camp is scheduled to take place at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center from August 10th - 15th, 2010.  Below is a link to a copy of the application. Also attached is the USAT CIDP Level 2 Coaching Seminar information and application; you must have already completed Level 1 to participate.  Level 2 coaching seminar will be held in Colorado Springs on Aug 13th - 14th.  Both events:  LinkClick.aspx

 

Colorado Taekwondo Female Athletes should note the FAI Camp hosted yearly by Master Barb Kunkel on July 18th - 23rd.  This year they will have Olympians: Barb Kunkel, Kay Poe, and Nia Abdallah along with other top athletes.  Refer to the google calendar for information on how to register for this event.

 

Colorado Students and Instructors Featured in Wall Street Journal. Colorado Taekwondoists were featured in this article about older Americans opting for Taekwondo over Tai Chi.

 

ESA hosted a WONDERFUL event on June 12th.  Congratulations go out to Master Bob Gallagher and his son Master Brian Gallagher for running a top notch tournament with many competitive events for Colorado athletes to choose from.  There was an air of true Taekwondo Spirit at the Attitude for the Gold Classic with a focus to remind us all of the FREEDOMS we enjoy thanks to the sacrifice our men and women of the Armed Forces give each and every day.  We all need to be a part of this event in 2011 where Master Gallagher said they will actually have some Veterans present in representation of the many in active duty world wide.  

 

May 22nd AAU Colorado State Championship - Top 8 in their qualifying divisions advance to AAU Nationals!

 

Congratulations to all medal winners at the AAU State Championship! Best of Luck at Nationals 2010!

 

May 1st COSTA State Championship was a HUGE success!  The event, a USAT Qualifier for Nationals, had over 200 participants and many schools were present. A heartfelt thank you goes out to every Competitor, Parent, Referee, and Master present at the event for their cooperation!  We had a top notch event with kids and adults participating, showcasing a true and genuine Taekwondo Spirit!  Keep an eye on the Colorado Google Calendar for information on the Upcoming Colorado Sponsored Athlete Team Trials on Aug 7th. 

 

Best of luck to all Colorado Athletes participating at the USAT Nationals in Orlando. We are all extremely proud of you!

 

Best Wishes from all of Colorado go out to all USA athletes competing at the Spanish Open.  We hope that Darcy Kimmich, Jose Flores, Alfonso Flores, and Ally Creel have the best results in their respective divisions.  We are all extremely proud of them!

 

Monthly Olympic Sparring and Referee Clinics are THRIVING!

Colorado keeps coming together on a monthly basis and providing a great opportunity for Colorado Taekwondo Athletes to get Olympic Sparring experience and Referee Training.  On Jan 16th over 70 athletes attended the Mejias Tkd Clinic, then On Feb 20th over 60 attended the KAT Clinic, on March 27th close to 65 athletes attended the Tri Lakes Clinic, and on April 10th close to 80 athletes participated at the A-Team COSTA Scrimmage!  Colorado is Rocking!  At all of these clinics, Master Robert McKenna and Master Larry Cain conducted two hour referee certification mini clinics.  These clinics have now yielded over 10 new referees for Colorado!  Keep an eye on the Colorado Google Calendar as these clinics will be starting again soon!

 

The 8 hour referee certification seminar on March 20th was yet another successful event. 

This event yielded 9 new referees for Colorado!  A special thank you goes out to Master Bob McKenna and Master Larry Cain for their dedication to improving the referee pool in 2010.  Add these to the mini referee clinic referees and we have over 19 new referees!

 

2009 US Open Results:

The US Open in Las Vegas was SPECTACULAR!  There were active Olympians competing as well as World Champions from several countries.  Many countries brought complete teams and the fighting was amazing.  President Aranzamendi and his wife Dena had ringside seats as they volunteered along with many Colorado athletes!  A special thank you goes out to Master Raul Gutierrez who had the most volunteers working all four days!  Colorado was well represented by a well trained and coached state team, volunteers, and other athletes who gave their very best. 

The only GOLD medal achieved belongs to Eliezer Muñoz from Tegura Taekwondo.  Eliezer trains under Master Raul Gutierrez, and according to Master Gutierrez, Eleizer is one of his hardest training students with the highest of goals in Olympic Style Taekwondo.

Brian Gallagher from ESA won a silver medal in the Men's lightweight division!  Brian, who is the reigning four time USA Bantam Team Member, fought two weight divisions up and did so in spectacular fashion winning six matches before valiantly losing in the final against a very tall and talented USA fighter.  Brian used all of his skills to win in a division he normally does not compete in and he won one of his fights with three points scored on thunderous punches!  We will have to see what Brian does next, Bantam, Feather, Light? 

Alfonso Florez from Tegura Taekwondo won a Bronze medal in the 14 to 17 Blackbelt Juniors Division.  Poncho fought a contested match to a very talented and tall fighter from the Chinese Taipei Team.  The fight went into overtime after Poncho scored a spin kick with less than 5 seconds left in regulation!  The overtime was decided by the referee who gave Poncho two kyongo's for barely stepping out of bounds!  Rules were observed but everyone agreed that overtime should be decided by a kick or punch! Great job Poncho.

There were several other Colorado fighters who competed representing Colorado and as we gather their names and results we will post it here. Fighters like Ethan Tiburcio from Delgados Taekwondo - he had some phenomenal matches and displayed great skill in all of his matches. Ethan is sure to be one of Colorado's future champions.  Also, Jose Luis Flores who in his first US Open and 1st Blackbelt Adults competition took the 2009 US National Champion Jermaine James past overtime and lost to a referee's choice!  Junior and Poncho are both on the AAU National Team and will be competing in Spain this April!  The competitive level of this tournament was really high and our fighters gained valuable experience! 

 

Feb 6th COSTA Board of Governors Meeting

On Feb 6th at the COSTA Board of Governors Meeting two new positions were added to the COSTA elected board. These positions will be positions with a full vote and President Aranzamendi was given the authority to appoint the candidates to serve during his term.  Cezar Nascimento has been appointed to the Marketing Vice President position created.  And in only 3 weeks, Master Nascimento has already secured a sponsorship from the Tool Company Ryobi! Congrats Master Cezar. 

President Aranzamendi  has now appointed Mr. Jeff Tiburcio as the COSTA Parent Representative.  The position requires that Mr. Tiburcio regularly attend most tournaments in Colorado, make his email available to everyone via the COSTA Web Page, and that he serve as the parents' voice on the COSTA board.  A special THANK YOU goes out to Master Darin Carr and to Mr. Ron Broche for offering to assist with this position, you are both very involved with the development of COSTA and your efforts are highly appreciated!