全美跆拳道冠軍賽開幕 華人嘉賓受邀致辭 Chinese guests invited to Attend on The National Taekwondo Championship
作者Author:甘渴為 Kewei Gan
2023年11月12日，GTAF全美跆拳道冠軍賽在Milton高中體育館內開幕。來自全美各州的48所跆拳道學校、近500名參賽選手，及2000餘名觀眾出席開幕式。韓國跆拳道協會總部代表、GTAF主席金敬德，州參議員Walter F. Timilty，波士頓議長Ed Flynn, 波士頓亞美聯誼會執行會長潘飛，顧問團主席黃埜，董事王天齊、甘渴為等政要嘉賓受邀出席開幕式並致辭。
開幕式在一位14歲參賽選手演唱的美國及韓國國歌中拉開序幕。來自伍斯特市HANMI跆拳道學校的15位學員代表全體參賽選手及團體代表，首先為全體來賓獻上了跆拳道套路表演。在學員們生龍活虎的吶喊聲中，數塊厚達一公分的松木板被同時劈開，令現場觀眾歡呼不已。隨後，金敬德主席代表韓國跆拳道協會及GTAF發表致辭，在感謝各位嘉賓及合作單位的同時，也對所有參賽選手、家長及教練為弘揚跆拳道做出的努力表示感激。而參議員Timilty表示，這是他首次受邀參與這樣大型體育賽事的開幕式。他驚訝於跆拳道在美國蓬勃發展的現狀，並對這項體育運動在全美青少年健康方面做出的貢獻表示肯定。他由衷祝願全體參賽成員能取得好成績。作為本次大賽合作夥伴中唯一華人社團的代表，以及資深跆拳道學習者，波士頓亞美聯誼會執行會長潘飛先生在致辭中向參賽選手表示：“在訓練中，你們磨練了自己的技能，以致今日在這個舞臺上展示最好的自己。你們的勇氣和毅力激勵著我們所有人，你們的承諾和努力將激勵更多人追求他們的運動夢想。”他還提到，在每年於波士頓中心公園舉辦的亞美節上，跆拳道表演一直是最受歡迎的節目之一。他在此誠摯的邀請本次比賽的優勝團體，在來年的第十四屆亞美節上，登臺表演，向各界展現亞裔群體的精神風采。最後，亞美會顧問團主席黃埜律師宣讀州長賀信，在簡單介紹美國跆拳道發展歷程的同時，轉達了州政府對於大賽的祝福。
據悉，GTAF全美跆拳道冠軍賽是北美最大規模的跆拳道專業比賽之一。GTAF主席金敬德在採訪中表示，目前比賽涵蓋了從青少年及成人年齡段各類型比賽，包括技能賽、表演賽等。舉辦該比賽，是為了在弘揚韓國跆拳道文化的同時，鼓勵更多美國各族裔青少年樂於強健體魄、鍛煉精神，也為了將亞裔群體陽剛尚武的一面展現給美國社會。
On November 12, 2023, the GTAF National Taekwondo Championship opened in the Milton High School Gymnasium. 48 Taekwondo schools from all over the United States, nearly 500 competitors, and more than 2,000 spectators attended the opening ceremony. Jingde Kim, representative of the Korean Taekwondo Association Headquarters and Chairman of GTAF, State Senator Walter F. Timilty, Boston Speaker Ed Flynn, Executive Director of the Asian American Association of Boston Phillip Pan, Chairman of the AAAB Advisory Group Huang Ye, Directors Wang Tianqi, Gan Kewei and other dignitary guests were accepted Invited to attend the opening ceremony and deliver a speech.
The opening ceremony kicked off with the American and Korean national anthems sung by a 14-year-old contestant. Fifteen students from HANMI Taekwondo School in Worcester, representing all contestants and group representatives, first presented a Taekwondo routine performance to all the guests. Amid the lively shouts of the students, several one-centimetre-thick pine boards were split at the same time, making the audience cheer. Subsequently, Chairman Kim Kyung-deok delivered a speech on behalf of the Korean Taekwondo Association and GTAF. While thanking all guests and cooperative units, he also expressed his gratitude to all contestants, parents and coaches for their efforts in promoting Taekwondo. Senator Timilty said that this was the first time he had been invited to participate in the opening ceremony of such a large sporting event. He was surprised by the current situation of Taekwondo's booming development in the United States and affirmed the contribution this sport has made to the health of youth across the United States. He sincerely wished all participating members good results. As the only representative of the Chinese community among the partners of this competition and a senior taekwondo learner, Mr. Pan Fei, executive president of the Boston Asian American Association, said to the contestants in his speech: "During the training, you have honed your skills. , so that you can show your best self on this stage today. Your courage and perseverance inspire us all, and your commitment and hard work will inspire more people to pursue their sports dreams." He also mentioned that in Boston every year Taekwondo performances have always been one of the most popular programs at the AADay Festival held in Boston Common. He hereby sincerely invites the winning group of this competition to perform on stage at the 14th Asian American Day Festival next year to show the spirit of the Asian community to all walks of life. Finally, Lawyer Huang Ye, chairman of the Asian American Association Advisory Group, read the governor's congratulatory letter, briefly introduced the development history of Taekwondo in the United States, and conveyed the state government's blessings for the competition.
It is reported that the GTAF National Taekwondo Championship is one of the largest professional taekwondo competitions in North America. GTAF Chairman Jin Jingde said in an interview that the current competition covers various types of competitions from youth to adult age groups, including skills competitions, exhibition competitions, etc. The competition is held to promote Korean Taekwondo culture, encourage more American youths of all ethnic groups to be willing to strengthen their bodies and exercise their spirits, and also to show the masculine and martial side of the Asian community to American society.
