Buenos Aires- Argentina

As you all know, the 7th ITF Pan-American Championship was held in Buenos Aires Argentina on the 7th, 8th and 9th of October, 2005. The Championship, once again, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Master Galarraga and his team, was a tremendous success.

In addition to all the countries that participated, we are extremely happy to report the participation of a team from Cuba. Their participation marks another first in ITF history. Along with their competitors, Mr. Reina brought two executive members from ITF Cuba. Their mission was to study the structure of the Championship. We look forward to their hosting of the 9th ITF Pan-American Championship in Cuba.

In addition to the Championship, we were given the opportunity to see a team compete from Europe against a team from the Americas. The sparring was exciting and added a new dimension to our Championship. We look forward to seeing similar matches in future championships.

While in Argentina, we also had occasion to meet and discuss issues which relate to the Americas. We thank everyone for bringing forward issues that need to be addressed. As you know, it is through dialogue that we are able to share and learn how to better our organization.

We would also like to thank the delegates from South Africa for attending and participating in this Championship. It was a pleasure to speak to all of you and learn about your efforts. Please keep up the good work.

On a final note, I would like to see more pictures posted on our web page of events that are happening throughout the world. We should not have to wait to see each other in person at seminars and championships to remember what we look like. The Taekwon-do family continues to grow and you should all be proud of your events and students. The web page gives us a unique opportunity to stay in touch with our brothers and sisters in Taekwon-do and share news, events and photographs. Please use it, it has been created to serve you.

Taekwon,

Master Choi, Jung Hwa