Taekwondo Peace Corps

Taekwondo_February2012

February was once again a good month for the ATN-Taekwondo Sport Program as we continued to develop this sport in Rwanda. We were able to officially hire Placide Bagabo, the Secretary General of the Rwanda Taekwondo Federation to work full time for the federation. We were able to continue with the Taekwondo Peace Corps program… Read More

2012 London Olympics Qualification Tournament

Taekwondo_January2012

In January, 2012, Martin Koonce took two of Rwanda’s top Taekwondo competitors to Cairo Egypt for the 2012 London Olympics Qualification Tournament. Irenee Bagire and Placide Bagabo traveled to Cairo with Coach Koonce to represent Rwanda as all the nations of Africa assembled to compete for eight spots in the Olympics for men and eight… Read More

Taekwondo & Art Added to Street Kid Day Program

Street_Boys_January2012_1

To enhance the quality of the Day Program provided each Sunday, Taekwondo and art have been added. Martin Koonce, the Rwandan national Taekwondo coach is teaching approximately 40 boys the discipline and skills of the sport. His wife, Louise Koonce, is teaching art. The boys have responded well to the more structured approach to the… Read More

ATN Sport’s Camp

sports-dec-2010-sportscamp

A group of 19 from the United States came to serve through ATN for a 2 week period beginning Dec. 27. They conducted a two-week youth and sports camp with students at GSKI school in Kicukiro. They conducted sports training every morning and leadership development, service projects and crafts and games in the afternoon. In… Read More

World TKD Training

sports-nov-2010-tkd

  We spent the weekend of November the fifth and sixth training in Taekwondo movements, routines, and Olympic style competition. We had over thirty athletes of advanced levels with eighty-five percent being from Rwanda but also from Congo and Burundi. They were taught by Peter Kamau and Martin Koonce from ATN. Peter is the assistant… Read More

ATN Peace Cup

ATN Peace Cup 2010

This month we hosted the first annual ATN Peace Cup Football Tournament for area Kicukiro schools. The tournament was designed to promote peace and unity among the peoples of Rwanda. At ATN we are committed to partnering with local schools to develop a new generation of student athletes who possess great integrity and who will… Read More

Foundational Traits of TKD

sports-tkd-april-2010-traits

This month Martin Koonce continued to assist and train the Taekwondo athletes of Rwanda. Two sessions were held focusing on improving technique and preparing for international competition. They are learning to properly train as well as teach others the art of Taekwondo and grow this sport in Rwanda. As well they worked on character development… Read More

10 New Rwandan Blackbelts!

sports-tkd-2010-03-blackbelts

In March, we brought in the national coach of Taekwondo for Uganda in order to test the top ten Taekwondo players in Rwanda for the rank of 1st Dan black belt masters of Taekwondo. This ranking will allow them to participate in international events as well as register them with the World Taekwondo Federation which… Read More

Taekwondo Club Trainings

fcd_ys_2010_02

We continued with our development of a national Taekwondo team and a Taekwondo federation for Rwanda this month. We were able to host four practices at the Belgian School and trained the clubs from Kigali as well as Butare. They continue to work on their registrations with the Ministry of Sports and after the completion… Read More

Sports League Preparations

fcs-y-report-09-12b-web

ATN began preparations for the upcoming youth football tournament. We met with school officials, coaches, and others to prepare for a kids football tournament which will launch in May. The tournament will be called the ATN Peace Cup and will help promote peace and unity among the people of Rwanda. In addition, ATN coordinated a… Read More