Elite kicks off a new sparring season

TORQUAY locals were among the action at the Victorian State Taekwondo competition in Melbourne on May 6.

Elite Taekwondo headed up to the State Hockey and Netball Centre with several students from their Torquay and Geelong-based clubs to battle it out it against a strong field of competitors.

The competition based on a points system through electronic scoring, scores a variety of shots, with higher points being awarded for the increased difficultly of the kicks.

Taekwondo competitors must have great speed, agility and flexibility to be able to score and avoid being scored against.

The competition kicked off at 8am with the first heats and final rounds taking place about 3pm.

During the first competition of the year, the team at Elite showed what they were made of and put up a great effort in the hotly contested divisions.

The final tally for the local competitors were three gold, 10 silver and three bronze medals.

Torquay locals Poppy McColl and Scott Jardine both had extremely close matches, edged out of gold in the finals to bring home the silver medal.

“It was such a great day for the students to be able to put together what they have learnt in the classes,” Elite Taekwondo owner Alistair Lawson said.

“It shows their hard work and knowledge of sparring is really growing and it’s great to see them coming home with some medals and a big smile on their faces.”

With the next competition only weeks away, the Elite Taekwondo team will go straight back to training and look forward to going one better at the Melbourne Taekwondo Invitational in three weeks.

For more information on Elite Taekwondo Torquay, please check out their website at elitetaekwondoaustralia.com.au.