AETF reporter
Katarzyna Rozwadowska

Email to KR

A very successful 4th edition of the Holland Cup took place at the weekend 1st and 2nd of June in Pijnacker, the Netherlands. 525 competitors (345 on Saturday, 180 on Sunday) from 52 clubs from Belgium, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Syria, and the Netherlands arrived to the Dutch province of South Holland on the invitation of Mr Tim Kool, the owner of Sportschool Tim Kool and head of the Organising Committee. Battling competitors were judged by 56 referees on Saturday and 35 on Sunday and cheered on by 615 (345 on Saturday and 270 on Sunday) spectators and supporters.

All teams arrived on Friday had the Weigh In Procedure organized on the spot in the hotel the same day, which some of the competitors who had been starving for last few days were dying for. Those who arrived on the day of the competition went on the scales in the sports hall before the tournament started. Once the weighting and measuring (for kids) were completed the competitors received their ID cards and wristbands.

Following the coach meeting and referee meeting, the competition started on Saturday morning at 9:30 in a large (1.872 m2 surface area ) and very modern (unique combination of facilities) sports and recreational complex called “de Viergang”. The venue was decorated with innumerable number of sponsors’ banners and boards, the Holland Cup big banner, and many small posters of the 4th Holland Cup. Hanging on the wall was also a poster with picture of Gen. Choi and the tournament’s Organising Committee members. Besides the colorful banners, the hall was vitalized by live (no artificial!) green plants delivering oxygen as well as giving an air of relaxation and calmness. The nicely decorated and well equipped main table was situated behind an elevated centre ring and a splendidly prepared VIP area. In the left corner the organizers placed a huge screen displaying a current schedule which informed about all category events on each ring. The massive screen was easily visible for everyone in the competition area and the grandstand. In the opposite corner was a well prepared podium with an adorable collection of bronze, silver, and gold medals as well as two overall trophies to be awarded during the two days of battling. Out of the competition hall and on the way to the grandstand there were stands with taekwon-do equipment and The Holland Cup’s souvenirs. T-shirts with names of the winners from the previous year were really popular with participants.

The Opening Ceremony started with competitors, coaches and volunteers lined up in the venue cheering on the referees entering the hall to the sound of loud music. Mr Kool welcomed all the participants warmly and explained the rules and the routine of the tournament. He also thanked the Organising Committee presenting them on the main centre ring and handed out framed commemorative certificates of the 4th Holland Cup.

After a very pleasant Opening Ceremony the tournament started with first bows for A-class competitors (blue belts and above) on 7 squares. At first the pre-arranged free sparring category started on the elevated centre ring and pattern on the other rings. Individual and team categories in pattern finished before noon and after lunch break it was time to put gloves on. Many exciting and emotional as well as very high sports level bows filled the whole afternoon giving a first class show for the spectators. Two patterns and two rounds in sparring presented a great opportunity for the competitors to fully demonstrate their skills and potential. After the whole day of competing on the top of the podium climbed Sportscentre Tapilatu, led by Master Wijnand Tapilatu and Mr Stephen Tapilatu, to be given overall best club trophy for A-class competitors.

The day in the competition hall was over but not for the participants. Late in the evening they came back to the same building they spent the whole day in but… “wearing high heels and fresh T-shirts (or shirts)” to enjoy the after-party. If the saying I heard that “someone who can dance can also be a good fighter” is true, I can definitely say that the parquet was “crowded with champions” until late into the night.

The second day of the competition started with a similar Opening Ceremony to the one on Saturday. This day B-class youth, juniors, seniors, and veterans (white, yellow, and green belts) fought for the medals in individual pattern and sparring categories on four squares. The day past very swiftly and proficiently as the first day of the competition did and finished before 3pm. That was the day to celebrate a victory of the winning the overall best club trophy (B-class) by In Nae Do Kwan led by Master James Tjin aTon and his wife Mrs Liesbeth Willems.

Please, find below few words from Master Wijnand Tapilatu

Master Wijnand Tapilatu

• Sir, could you tell us a little bit about your club?
  In 1993 I started with my own sports centre. Before that, I was teaching Taekwon-Do in 4 different places. Now we have 12 black belts in our Sportcenter. 4 of our students represent the national team.

• Could you tell us about the biggest success of your club or your students?
  In the past we were most successful with the Tapilatus - Stephen, Bianca, Django, and Patiparu. They are World and European Champions. Our success is also junior world champion Richard Sie.

• Did you take part in any of the previous editions of the Holland Cup tournament?
  Yes, we took part in all the Holland Cup tournaments.

• What are your previous achievements in this competition?
  In the past we won a lot, but not like this time.

• How many students of your club took part in the Holland Cup 2013? How many medals did you win?
  We entered with 10 students of our club, 6 female and 4 male juniors. We won 6 medals.

• Which of your students taking part in the tournament would you like to praise?
  Tessa lumalessil and Monica Anholt, they won in the Sparring and Tuls.

• How did overall best club celebrate its victory?
  We ate at MacDonalds!!!!

• What is your impression of the Holland Cup?
  A well organized Tournament with good schedule.

Few words from Master James Tjin A Ton

Master James Tjin a Ton

• Sir, could you tell us a little bit about your club?
  Our club Taekwon-Do IN NAE DO KWAN is one of the oldest ITF clubs from the Netherlands. This year we will celebrate our 40th anniversary. We are also a club with the most members of ITF Netherlands - 575. We are a professional club that means me and my wife, Liesbeth Willems, are making a living of Taekwon-Do. We have one instructor employed full time and three other instructors sending us invoices for the lessons they are giving for our club. We have nine locations, including a full time gym. Also a lot of volunteers, red and black belts, are helping us with the lessons. That is mandatory to become a higher degree. Furthermore, we are one of the Martial Arts clubs who earned a Fight Right Mark. As you know in most of the country’s everybody can start a Martial Arts club without any regulations. Such as physical education, a Martial Arts government approved license, child policy, fist aids, financial control, or there is no control if you have been convicted or not. We have national champions and international champions in our club, in the past Vousia Farzan 4th degree, and in 2007 Jamil Chami -71kg became World Champion in Québec. As a club we are focusing not only on competitions because most Taekwon-Doins do not want to compete but just practice Taekwon-Do as a Sport, Fitness to be physical and for the children it is important to have lots of fun. Teaching Taekwon-Do in our club is a way to achieve another goal, helping kids and adults to be a better person for themselves, family , friends, at home, school, and on the playground. Of course first they want to be a black belt or a champion and sometimes to be the best fighter in the area. Yes, it is difficult not to see practicing Taekwon-Do as a goal ( a better side kick, performing Juche the best, the highest jumper etc) but the means to achieve another goal. We as a club are setting an example, Taekwon-Do means also to do something for the society. So for many years we have given a part of our lesson money to a good cause – Morocco - a charity, a foundation that helps disabled , ADHD, and children with mental sickness. Now we have been asked by the government of our city Utrecht to give Taekwon-Do lessons to homeless people and asylum seekers because mostly they did not choose to be in that situation and they are very disappointed with the government and their families , with a lots of aggression in them.

• Did you take part in any of the previous editions of the Holland Cup tournament?
  The Holland Cup, just as the Battle of Utrecht, Dutch Open, Open Zeeuwse, part of the Master Series from ITF Netherlands that means our members National Team can earned points to be selected , our umpires has tournaments to be licensed and ITF Netherlands profited the organizers competitions mats free of charge, publicity in our country, AETF and ITF website. The Holland cup is very well organized by Tim Kool and his club and family. We think that he can easily organize an EK or even bigger competition. Maybe in the future, we will see.

• How many students of your club took part in the 4th Holland Cup? How many medals did you win? Which of your students would you like to praise?
  Every year we are on the Holland Cup but this year was very successful. We had 9 competitors at the 4th Holland Cup - 3 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze. To win the overall Cup you must fill in a form and predict how many 1-2-3 places and which competitor. My coaches did a very good job to put the right persons and the medalists. I want to praise one student, Bryan de Jong 16 years, because he is very modest, is very helpful without asking, assists in the kids class, trains a lot and hard and is full of talent.

• Would you like to add something else?
  We hope that everybody will come to our tournament: Battle of Utrecht 29 September before the World Championship in Benidorm and the first tournament after the summer.

The key to a phenomenal success of the 4th Holland Cup is enthusiasm and paying attention not only to the bread-and-butter but also to finest details – just like at previous editions of this tournament. I would like to put them all together:

• The competition divided into two days presented more possibilities: patterns category extended to two performed tuls, two rounds in sparring, and pre-arranged free sparring added to the schedule (A-class competitors);
• An after party;
• An elevated centre ring (like at the European or World Championships);
• The Weigh In Procedure divided into two days (on Friday in the hotel, and on Saturday morning in the sports hall);
• Good information flow and clear rules;
• Detailed and clear ID cards with competitor’s name, club name, date of birth, gender, sparring and pattern category, ring number;
• Up-to-date schedule information displayed on a huge screen visible from competitors area and the grandstand;
• A high number of professional referees and volunteers;
• An awarding ceremony immediately after every category was completed;
• Smart and stylish guests and a VIP area;
• Superb refreshments for the referees, guests, VIPs, coaches, and volunteers served on a repeated basis and always when needed;
• A designated area for competitors about to enter a ring and volunteers ushering them to the right square;
• Stands with merchandise for the Holland Cup and TKD equipment;
• Decorations inside and outside of the venue;
• Booklets outlining tournament schedule;
• Cakes with pictures of the Organising Committee;
• A flower bouquet handed to each referee at the end of the day as a token of appreciation for their hard work;
• The well-run official website http://www.hollandcup.net/en and a fan page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holland-Cup/494063497324571.

Rory de Vries, Tim Kool, Corine Kool, Patrick den Hoed

I would like to present the Organising Committee, Head Referee, and various volunteers of the 4th Holland Cup:

Tim Kool (IV Degree) – Head of the Organising Committee

Tim Kool has been practising Taekwon-Do for 22 years, and is the owner of Sportschool Tim Kool. Tim has the main responsibility for governing and handling all the decisions taken by the Committee after discussions, careful consideration and deliberation.

Corine Kool (II Degree)

Corine has been practising taekwon-do for 13 years, and is Tim’s sister. Corine has a natural organizational talent, and therefore her main task within the Committee is administration. She also governs all contacts with competing clubs and countries.

Rory de Vries (IV Degree)

Rory has been practising Taekwon-Do for 13 years. He has a lot of experience going to international tournaments and his main task is to give his experienced opinion on the organisation of the tournament. He is responsible for graphical design and translation of all correspondence.

The Organisingn Committee of the 4th Holland Cup consists of three main people mentioned above. However, there are a great number of enthusiastic volunteers from Sportschool Tim Kool who play a very important role, who work very hard and with dedication, and without whom the Holland Cup wouldn’t be as good as it was. Among them are:

Gerard v/d Wijngaart, ambassador of the Holland Cup, and Diana Traub

Diana and Gerard are responsible for all matters related to the sponsors of the Holland Cup.

Diana Wildschut

Diana is the treasurer of Sportschool Tim Kool and the main responsible person for the financial welfare of the Holland Cup. Even though the main focus of this tournament is taekwon-do, we would not have organise this event without apt handling of the finances.

Cleem Kool

Cleem is Tim and Corine’s father. He does the actual purchase and collection of most items necessary for the Holland Cup. Cleem is also very skilful and creates most of the Holland Cup decoration.

Patrick den Hoed (V Degree) - Head Referee

Patrick started his Taekwon-Do career in 1996 at the age of 10. In 2001 Sabum Patrick participated in his first umpire course and later the same year he acted as umpire at a tournament for the first time. At present, he is an international A-license holder and has been to 4 International Umpire Courses since 2008. In 2007 he joined the national Tournament & Umpire Committee. In this position, among other things, he has already educated more than 250 umpires and directed 5 Dutch national championships. Currently he is chairman of this committee, which he runs with Sabum Emiel Kloor (IV Dan), Boosabum Corine Kool (III Dan), Sahyun Coos v/d Heuvel (VII Dan), and Henny van Zon.

Ever since the first edition (in 2010) Sabum Patrick has been involved with the organisation of the Holland Cup both during the preparation and execution phase of this tournament and has been responsible for all regulatory, procedural, and umpire-related affairs.

I had a great pleasure interviewing Mr Tim Kool, Head of the Organising Committee:

Mr Tim Kool, Head of the Organising Committee

• This is the fourth edition of the Holland Cup. What are the biggest differences between your first time and the competition this year?
  The difference between the first competition and this one is enormous. Except for the fact the we are now far more experienced with organizing such a big tournament. It has also turned into a two-day tournament with more competitors. We added team sparring/patterns & pre-arranged free sparring, for the juniors/seniors blue belt and higher the competition rounds became two rounds like the international standard. We have a lot more accessories to make the appearance of the hall more attractive, we sell special Holland Cup t-shirts along with some other products. The after party on Saturday evening and many more other small things that complete the tournament. We added the stage center area which gives the tournament a European or World championships feel.

• Last year you didn’t have problems with preparations or on the competition day. I hope it was the same this year…?
  This year things went even smoother. Even though it's a two-day event, Saturday is the busiest day for us. We completed all the individual sparring, individual patterns, team sparring male/female, team patterns male/female an pre-arranged free sparring around 18.15, which was well before the planned finish time. This is only possible because of our motivated volunteers and referees. Of course some small things we like to do different next year, but I think we will feel like that every year, because we are perfectionists.

• Last year you wanted improve a couple of things; for example: two days competition, an after party, expanding patterns (two patterns instead of one) and sparring (two rounds), etc. Which of the things mentioned did you achieve? Are you happy with it? You also had some other plans you wanted to keep in secret. What were they?
  All of these things you have mentioned we have achieved this year. If I make plans I don't like to do just one or maybe two of them. This is also a risk because everything still needs to be done in a good manner. This takes a lot of time, but it's very worth it when you see that the end result is a success. The 'secret' plan didn't work this year. Maybe next year I'm not sure. That was one of the things that were harder to accomplish than expected, but maybe it will happen in the future. We had something new in addition this year and that is that we are going to make a video trailer for next year. Of course not a 'normal' trailer, but we are using footage from every angle. This will give people a good chance to see the whole Holland Cup experience and maybe compete to check it out first hand.

• The Holland Cup is already one of the best organised competitions in Europe. It is actually very difficult to improve something which is already at a very high level, but is there something you would like to improve or change next year?
  To hear that the Holland Cup is one of the best organized tournaments is a great compliment. We still have few things we can improve to make the tournament even better. For next year one of the big things we’d like to improve is to make the organization of the Holland Cup more easy for us. As people would expect it's a lot of work. We're busy all year, but a lot of things can go more efficiently. That's an area we need to concentrate on. If the organization becomes easier then we can put our energy and time into other things.

• How do you consider the sport level at the Holland Cup 2013?
  The sports level is great. There were a lot of (former) European- and World champions from all associations. This makes the competition level very high. The sportsmanship was also very good. No real big arguments nor other things occurred, there were zero protests. I think everybody just had a really good weekend and that is what we are trying to achieve. After all winning/losing is an important factor, but we are all here for one thing: the love of Taekwon-Do in general.

• This is a different way to emerge as an overall best club from what it's like in other European competitions. Could you explain how you do this way in Holland and why?
  Normally the overall best club is the one that has the most prizes. We like to make this a little competition between the gym representatives or coaches. Before the competition starts the gym representatives have to fill in a form with the names of 5 people who they think will get a medal and give this form to the main table. For every listed competitor that wins a 3rd place, the gym will get 1 point, second place 3 points and the first place 5 points. At the end of each day the overall best club will be the club that has the most points and is the best in 'predicting' the future in the morning. This makes things very different and a lot more exciting.

• Did you have any special guests?
  Actually we're lucky to have many special guests every year. That's why we have a big VIP area. This year master Coos van de Heuvel (tournament director of the AETF) visited the Holland Cup specially to see the sports level. Furthermore, the Dutch Masters like Master Tjin-a-Ton, Master Tapilatu and Master vd Mortel were all present. Of course we should also mention important foreign guests like Master Denis, Julia Cross and Andreas Jenstad. You were also one of our special guests and all of the sponsors we have are our special guests.

• Every year you have so many sponsors who are a great support for the Holland Cup. Who are they?
  We couldn't do without our sponsors. We like to make the participation fee as low as possible, but give back the highest possible quality tournament. Unfortunately these two things don't go together. One of our many volunteers Gerard van de Wijngaart is busy the whole year convincing all kinds of entrepreneurs to sponsor the Holland Cup. Lots of them aren't even familiar with Taekwon-Do, but Gerard still encourages them to sponsor us. The Holland Cup sponsors of 2013 were: Winkeliers vereniging Ackershof, BHV Case, Eye Wish Pijnacker, Volta Autowascentrale, Diemensio, Asian Hut, Grando Keukens, Van Schie interieur stoffen, Pizza Dennis, SNS Bank Pijnacker, Quinto Kappers Berkel, Restaurant Mei, Het Witte Huis, Jeni Sport, Futuro Mannenmode Pijnacker, BP Emerald, De Voordeel Shop, Ritel Pijnacker, Lara Mode, Autorijschool Mimi , Vitamin store Pijnacker, Atlantic Pizza, Langedak Dakwerken, De Briljanten Schaar, Van der Leeuw optiek, Bram Ladage , Cafe de Gruyter, Bloemendaal Ruigrok, Partycentrum Tout Le Monde, Harders Architecten, Restaurant Yosshi, New York pizza, Van Koppen & van Eijk, Autorijschool License 4 You, Lansbergen Gerbera's, Verbakel Gas Service, Midnight Star, Intratuin, Van den Berg Roses, KVM Trading & Business, Milieu Express, Wim van Nierop, Lidl, Albert Heijn, Karwei Delfgauw, Sportmassage Walcheren, Aktie sport, Perry sport, AA Drink, Unilever, Bakkerij van Maanen, , Truetone Music, Expert Pijnacker, Energie box, Rozema verhuur.

• Also your students competed in this competition. Are you happy with their performance?
  Because we're so busy throughout the day I have no clue what our students results are until the end of the day. We did okay, but not as good as I had hoped for, but that's maybe because I always hope for the best results. We are very happy that we had people to help us with coaching our students. Normally we do it ourselves, but that's impossible during the Holland Cup.

• There are many international competitions in Europe and some of them are at a very high level. What would you tell the competitors and their instructors to encourage them to choose the Holland Cup?
  The Holland Cup is a tournament made by competitors for competitors. The organising committee that consists of Corine Kool, Rory de Vries, our main umpire Patrick den Hoed and myself are all (former) national team members. We know what we like in a good tournament and try to achieve that in the best possible way. We also ask other experienced people to give input for our tournament. Because of this I think we can and will be better every year and maybe one day we will organize a World Cup or World Championships.

• Is there something else you would like to add?
  Just like every year I would like to thank everybody that helps to make the Holland Cup possible. We can try and organize anything we want, but without the help from masters, instructors, competitors, referees, volunteers, sponsors and spectators our organizing skills mean nothing. Thank you very much. I had a really good time this year and hope to see you all again next year with some new friends.

I also asked some distinguished participants about their opinion of the 4th Holland Cup. Please, find below their very positive response below.

Master Coos van den Heuvel – AETF and ITF Chairman of Tournament Committee

Master Coos van den Heuvel – AETF and ITF Chairman of Tournament Committee

 

At left: Miss Julia Cross – 15-time European Champion and 6-time World Champion, at right: Mr Harry van Schaik

Miss Julia Cross – 15-time European Champion and 6-time World Champion

Harry van Schaik "Active and Involved" - ITF Development Committee member

Two days of the competition passed with ease and efficiently in a very warm atmosphere and filling very welcome. There were many wonderful staff members who made all those present at home. Not only did they give us an excellent and professional “service” but also help and smile at every turn. They were very serious and enthusiastic about their tasks. We also remember that these volunteers didn’t just work throughout two competition days in the sports hall but their hard work had started weeks earlier and was by no means finished on Sunday at 3pm! Mr Gerard v/d Wijngaart, the Holland Cup’s ambassador, who is responsible for getting in touch with sponsors and taking care of them during the competition, had probably been working most of the year accomplishing his mission. Mr Patrick den Hoed, head umpire, ensured that everything at each square would run properly and according to the tournament’s rules, and on time with the competition schedule, but his preparation to the event had also started long time before hand. The Tournament Committee; Tim Kool, Corine Kool, Rory de Vries; you have done an excellent job once more! Your hard work, enthusiasm, and careful attention to detail definitely paid off. You gave all those present a great opportunity to experience a top-class competition at a very high organizational and sports level in a friendly atmosphere. I’m sure that most of the participants will be back next year along with their friends they will have convinced to join them by then. I strongly and heartily recommend this tournament “made by competitors for competitors” to take part!

4th Holland Cups’ Results