21st June 2023
Media Release
For Immediate Use

Manchester, UK

British Taekwondo International Open Competition in Manchester, 1st and 2nd July.

British International Open – Manchester 2023 to be held at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester.

For the first time in over a decade the British International Open Taekwondo Combat Sport event will take place in Manchester. The two-day event will be held on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd July.

Building on British Taekwondo’s highly successful partnership with Manchester City Council this event will take place in the newly refurbished ‘medal factory’ National Cycling Centre in Manchester, host to many successful British Championships during the last decade. Having recently completed a multi-million-pound refurbishment this world class venue is the ideal location to announce the return of the UK to the international Open calendar.

More than 200 athletes from the UK have signed-up, and 80+ international competitors from 30 countries have registered to compete at the two-day international event.

Entries close on Friday 23rd June.

The British International Open is an official World Taekwondo tournament and is open for all clubs and national teams to take part in.

Champions will be crowned in a range of categories:

• Senior Kyorugi divisions will take place on Saturday 1st July and will hold G1 status for World Taekwondo rankings.
• Cadet and Junior divisions will take place on Sunday 2nd July and will hold E1 status European Taekwondo Union rankings.

Spectator tickets for the British International Open are available to purchase online.

He added “I would really encourage all our British Taekwondo family and international teams that know and love Manchester to support this event so we can get off to a flying start, with the ambition to make this a permanent annual fixture.”

Sarah Stevenson Jennings MBE, British Taekwondo President said, “For the past ten years, Manchester has hosted teams from numerous countries and international clubs with great success and we can proudly say that participants gained incredible and valuable experiences with the organisation of the tournament and excellent quality of athletes.”

She added “We hope this year will also bring you more wonderful memories from Manchester, the tournament itself and the friendships made. As always, we promise to give our best!”

The British International Open – Manchester 2023 is sanctioned by World Taekwondo, promoted by the European Taekwondo Union, and organised by British Taekwondo.

Spectator tickets for the British International Open are available online.

Full details of the event and updates in the run-up to the kick-off can be found on the event page.

You will be able to follow the action on YouTube during the event on the British Taekwondo YouTube Channel.

The British International Open will be attended by athletes, coaches and supporters from clubs around the UK, as well as participants and spectators from overseas. The event is underpinned by a dedicated group of volunteers and officials from British Taekwondo.

Ends

Notes for Editors:

What is Taekwondo?

Taekwondo is a diverse traditional Martial Art and Olympic & Paralympic combat sport, offering a range of contact and non-contact participation and competition opportunities. Great Britain is a highly successful nation on the World stage with GB Taekwondo international stars leading the way. Athletes wear electronic body & head protectors that both score points and keep participants as safe from injury as possible in this full contact sport. These are supplemented with additional safety equipment such as shin, arm, groin and mouth guards. Many British Taekwondo clubs concentrate solely on Sport Taekwondo training and competition whilst others may offer a mix of combat sport and Martial Art. Taekwondo originated in South Korea and is now popular in over 200 countries with over 60 million people practicing worldwide.

Photos showing Taekwondo are available on request to Richard Gottfried, Marketing, Digital & Media Manager via media@britishtaekwondo.org

About British Taekwondo

British Taekwondo is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Taekwondo in Great Britain and is the representative of World Taekwondo and the European Taekwondo Union. British Taekwondo is a membership organisation with over 600 clubs and 18,000 individual members nationwide. The membership includes elite Olympic athletes, under the direction of GB Taekwondo at the National Academy in Manchester together with national players, referees, officials, instructors and individual members who train regularly in local clubs.

British Taekwondo also organises two national championships for its members each year. The British Taekwondo National Poomsae Championships and the British Sport Taekwondo Championships. Full details of British Taekwondo events can be found here.

Taekwondo in Manchester

Manchester is home to GB Taekwondo. GB Taekwondo is responsible for the preparation, management and performance of British athletes at the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and at World and European Championships. GB Taekwondo manages the full time ‘World Class Performance’ programme.

GB Taekwondo’s senior and junior athletes train at the National Taekwondo Centre in Newton Heath, Manchester. The facility is managed by GLL and the venue provides programmes and activities for clubs and schools, ensuring that the National Taekwondo Centre is fully utilised in the hours that GB athletes are not training.

The city will also host the 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Prix – Final in December, as Manchester Regional Arena will welcome athletes from around the world competing for ranking points ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Contact:

For further information and media accreditation please contact Richard Gottfried, Marketing, Digital & Media Manager via media@britishtaekwondo.org or 07706 342156.

You can visit the British Taekwondo website and follow British Taekwondo on social media via Linktree.

Downloads:

• Media Release – British Taekwondo International Open Competition in Manchester, 1st and 2nd July PDF
• Entry Information Pack for the British International Open, Manchester 2023