Welcome to the website of the Colorado State Taekwondo Association (COSTA), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the development of Taekwondo athletes in the state of Colorado.

Latest News

Stefan Webb Makes Collegiate Team

The NCTA Collegiate Team Trials were held today, May 15th, at the OTC in Colorado Springs. Coloradoans Aaron Porras (CU Boulder) and Stefan Webb (Denver Metro) were competing in the fin and lightweight divisions respectively. Stefan Webb took first place, while Aaron Porras took second.  Some pictures are available here.  Stefan will be going the World University Games in Serbia in June.

USAT/WTF Rule Changes

Athletes competing at the USAT JOs/Senior Nationals should take note that the USAT has reversed its earlier decision and will be implementing the new WTF competition rules for 14-17 and Senior Black Belt divisions.  Some of the changes include court size, scoring values, weight categories and protest procedures.  Be sure to check the messages in your USAT account for details.

Pictures Available from ESA Tournament

You can find the link on our Pictures page. Thanks to Ed Taylor and Bob Day for sending them in.

Brian Gallagher Makes the USAT National Team

Brian Gallagher won the Bantam spot on the USAT Senior National Team today (April 24) at Team Trials in Austin.  His final match was an overtime win over Bernard Posey.  Way to go!  Brian and the rest of the US team will be going to the World Championships in Copenhagen in October.

Colorado AAU TKD Announces AAU State Team

The Colorado AAU has announced the winners of its qualifier and subsequent team trials. The four female team members are Nicole Chandler, Ally Creel, Kelly Hum, and Darcy Kimmich; while the four male team members are Alfonso Florez, Ryan McCullough, Jonathan Sterling, and Stefan Webb. The team is planning to attend the AAU nationals in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in July.  In addition, Jorge Mejia was selected as the Colorado AAU 2009 Sports person of the year. Congratulations!

KAT Tournament Results

Results from the recent KAT Tournament (White Tiger Championship) can be found here

Colorado State Taekwondo Open Championship

Thanks to all the volunteers, coaches, referees, and competitors that helped make this annual event successful.  About 110 competitors were given a great opportunity to learn, improve, and gain experience. A list of the winners of the State Team competition is provided below:

Jr. Male Jr. Female <= 110 Daniel Lopez (TEG) <= 100 Melissa Dang (MBT) 111-124 Jordan Tribble (PRO) 101-115 Alyssa Roseman (ATM) 125-140 Tanner Creel (ESA) 116-138 Bethany Lopez (MBT) 141-157 Jacob Amerman (ESA) 139+   157+       Sr. Male Sr. Female <= 127 Komil Latipov (KAT) <= 110 Stephanie Popken (ESA) 128-148 Ryan McCullogh (ALL) 111-125 Kelly Hum (ALL) 149-172 Stefan Webb (MBT) 126-148 Ally Creel (ESA) 173+   148+ Darcy Kimmich (MBT)

Pictures Available

State Team Results from the US Open in Las Vegas

Competition was tough, participation was huge, and E-hogus took some getting used to.  The whole team fought with skill and class. Here’s how things came out:

• Jacob Amerman - 14-17 Welter: made it to the 3rd round (quarterfinals) of competition; Senior Bantam: lost first match to Mexico
• Wendy Avitia - 14-17 Light: lost first match
• Ally Creel - Senior Light: lost first match to Spain
• Tanner Creel - 14-17 Welter: Bronze; Senior Bantam: made it to the 3rd round of competition.
• Jose Flores - 14-17 Light: made it to the 3rd round (quarterfinals) of competition
• Brian Gallagher (State Team Coach) - Senior Feather: made it to the 4th round (quarterfinals) before losing to Canada in overtime
• Darcy Kimmich - Senior Welter: lost first match to Mexico
• John Kimmich - Senior Heavy: lost first match in overtime
• Komil Latipov - Senior Fly: made it to the 3rd round of competition
• Christina Martinez - Senior Welter: lost first match to Australia in overtime
• Stephanie Popken - 14-17 Fin:  Silver; Senior Fin: lost first match to Dominican Republic in overtime.
• Stefan Webb - Senior Light:  lost first match

COSTA was proud to sponsor the Colorado State Team, providing air fare, lodging, registration, local transportation, and warm ups to the 11 competitors at an average cost of $483/person.

Congratulations also to Colorado competitors Ingrid Lopez (Middle, 10-11), Agustin Luevano (Bantam, 10-11), Julia Merritt (Fin, 10-11), and Ethan Tiburcio (Fin, 14-17) who received bronze medals.

State Championship Coming Up

COSTA’s Colorado State Taekwondo Championship is fast approaching (March 14th).  Here is a reminder of who has signed up to help out:

• Martinez TKD – Concessions and EMTs
• Tegura and MYT – Mats and setup/takedown of the venue
• Larry Cain and Bob McKenna – Referee certification and administration
• ProTKD – Call all schools to make sure they know of the event.
• ESA – Bracketing
• KAT / A Team – Online registrations, and phone-in registrations.
• Bob Gallagher – Medals, Venue, Insurance, and coordinating everything getting done.

Referee Seminar

Date: March 1st, 2009  (10:00 am)

Location: Korean Academy of Taekwondo, 16850 E. Mississippi, Aurora, CO

This is an official USAT Certified Referee Seminar.  They will review all of the Olympic Taekwondo rules, as modified for US Junior competitions.  Hands-on practice with scoring equipment. Refund of $50 cost to all Referees who ref at the Colorado State Championship. For more information see the flyer below or contact Bob McKenna (robert.mckenna@qwest.com )

Flyer

Two Colorado Athletes Qualify for National Team Trials

Colorado was well represented at the Senior National Team Qualifier the weekend of Jan 10-11 at the OTC, but they faced stiff competition in all divisions.  Two Colorado athletes, both Flyweights, were able to make it to the top four: Jorge Mejia (Littleton, CO)  and Jamie Toyota (Colorado Springs, CO).  Congratulations!  They will join Brian Gallagher (Bantam) to compete at the fight-off in Austin, TX in April.

Minutes and Bylaws Posted

The Minutes and Bylaws from the 2008 COSTA annual meeting are both now available.  The revised bylaws clarify the status of COSTA as an independent non-profit Taekwondo organization.

Kimmich Family Wins USAT Family of the Year

In case you didn’t see it, the Kimmich Family of Colorado won the 2008 USAT Family of the Year award. It’s part of the USAT annual awards.  Darcy and John are both currently on the Colorado State Taekwondo Team and have been part of the elite competitive scene for many years.  Parents Linda and Paul Kimmich can be seen officiating at most every local tournament and many national competitions. Congratulations on a well deserved award.

Some Highlights from the Rocky Mountain Open

The Rocky Mountain Open (Dec 6-7) was an interesting mixture, combining aspects of local, national, and international tournaments. They had everything from board breaking to forms to international sparring matches.  Junior black-belt females got to try out the Adidas e-hogus (you have to kick really hard in just the right spot to score).  They also had some “Grand Champion” awards that went to Colorado athletes.  Female Forms Champion:  Kylee Baker; Male Forms Champion:  Ethan Tiburcio; Jr Female BB Sparring Champion: Christina Martinez; Senior Male BB Sparring Champion: Jorge Mejia. Congratulations! The other Colorado medallists are too numerous to list, but fortunately, the USAT provides comprehensive results here.

Toronto Open

Seven Colorado blackbelts, including several State Team members, competed in the recent Toronto Open Taekwondo tournament and left quite a mark.  Five won Gold medals (Jacob Amerman - Junior Light/Welter, Ally Creel - Junior Light Middle/Middle , Aaron Porras - Junior Bantam/Feather, Stephanie Popken- Junior Fin/Fly, and Malik Taylor - 11-12), two won Silver (Ally Creel - Olympic Welter and Brian Gallagher - Olympic Feather) and one received Bronze (Tia Day - 11-12).  The tournament had good high-level competition and provided some great experience.  Good job!

Article from Highlands Ranch Newspaper

State Sparring Scrimmage and Annual COSTA Meeting A Success

(Saturday, Nov 8th, 2008, Location:  A-Team Taekwondo Academy, Greenwood Village, CO)

The scrimmage on the 8th was a great success!  Sixty-three athletes from schools and programs throughout Colorado attended.  Everybody got in lots of matches and helped “make each other better”. We raised almost $1600 to help support the State Team.

Many thanks to all of the volunteers, especially referee volunteers who worked tirelessly the entire day.  Special thanks to Master Angel Aranzamendi for providing a great venue for the scrimmage at his school.

The agenda and treasurers report from the 2008 COSTA annual meeting are available from the About COSTA page. The meeting minutes and revised bylaws will be posted as they become available.

Scrimmage Pictures