GULF AAU DISTRICT SETS NEW TAE KWON DO RECORD!

2007 is proving to be a banner year for AAU Taekwondo registrations and the Gulf AAU District is leading the way. "Gulf AAU Taekwondo has been a leader in our Program since its inception says National Sport Chair, Michael D. Friello. In fact, the Gulf District has competed quite vigorously for the Number One spot with both Pacific AAU and Maryland AAU for several years now."As of 05/01/07, Gulf AAU TKD stands at 1708 members!

In 1999 Gulf ranked #1 with 1,076 Taekwondo athletes to Maryland's 890 and Pacific's 779. In 2000 Pacific took the lead with 1,035 to Maryland's 907 and Gulf's 834. 2001 saw Gulf recapture the Number One position with a huge surge to 1,433 while both Pacific and Maryland saw their own numbers jump to 1,275 and 1,132 respectively. It's been that way ever since! Each of these three leading Districts showing great numbers and annual growth, but 2007 is one for the record books for Gulf AAU Taekwondo.

Never has a single, stand alone District registered 1500 Taekwondo athletes in a single season (September 1 through August 31) states Mr. Friello. And yet, here we are, April 1st, with our competitive year just a little more than half over and Gulf has surpassed, not just 1500, but the 1600 mark! As of April 1, 2007 Gulf has registered 1620 Taekwondo athletes.

Kudos goes out to both Master Mark Giambi, Regional Director for the area (and former District Chair himself) and his own right-hand man and current District Sport Chair-Master David McClosky. Together, they have proven to be an unbeatable team. Master Giambi credits the success of the Gulf AAU Taekwondo Program to both David's and his willingness to "hit the road throughout the entire state, knocking on doors, and relating the benefits of participating in the AAU Taekwondo Program above all others."

Most recently Master Giambi was invited to Dallas, Texas to set up an informational booth at one of the oldest, albeit non-AAU sanctioned, events in the state. Not only did he accept that invitation, but volunteered the competition ring electronic hardware and software to help make that event even more successful. Throughout the day, Master Giambi had the opportunity to speak with the many non-AAU schools in attendance about our Program and was extremely well received. Can 2000 registrations be far behind?

Mr. Friello added "It's exactly this kind of work at the grassroots level that is necessary to become truly successful as Dave and Mark are, in the Gulf District and all of Region #9. Continued growth at the District level in both registration numbers and qualifying event participation does not happen by accident. Growth in these all important measurement tools is directly proportional to the amount of time and money invested in the Program. District Sport Chairs like Mr. McClosky in Gulf, James Henry in Georgia, Bill Dewart in Pacific, Scott Fiorillo in Maryland, and David Turnbull in Florida AAU have all learned well that hard work, belief in and dedication to the Program does indeed pay off in the long run."