Hundreds of youth martial arts athletes will compete in the inaugural Region American Taekwondo Association (ATA) Class B Tournament on August 5 at the Hammond Sportsplex.
Region ATA Owner/CEO Ann Marie Coglianese is a lifelong Indiana resident. She operated her first Songahm Taekwondo Club in Hammond at the Jean Shepherd Center, so the obvious choice to host her first sanctioned American ATA Tournament was Hammond as well.
“I am honored to be hosting this event in Hammond with the South Shore CVA,” said Ann Marie. “My team and I chose to name this tournament and all tournaments that follow ‘The Next Generation’ as we are excited to see the next generation of martial arts compete in the spirit of Songahm Taekwondo. We always say, ‘to compete is to win!’ We will also have special guest, Grand Master MK Lee, who is a 9th Degree Black Belt and the current acting Grand Master of the International ATA.”
This tournament is expecting 500 competitors that will bring more than 1,500 spectators to the Hammond Sportsplex. “When you think of the Hammond Sportsplex you probably think soccer, basketball or volleyball,” stated Megan Goodan, SSCVA Chief Sports & Leisure Officer. “We are excited to host this emerging, martial arts sport right here in Northwest Indiana!”
There will be team and individual events at the tournament. The team events will be traditional sparring and combat sparring, and the individual events are forms, weapons, combat, sparring, traditional sparring, xtreme forms, xtreme weapons, creative forms, and creative weapons. For more information about the event, visit: https://regionata.com/programs/tournament-main/tournament