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Tournaments - Code of conduct
Attention all active members & parents of members,Moving forward, as a students of Metro Taekwondo Studio (or any other martial arts school for that matter) it is not permitted to enter into any tournament that we would otherwise not be going to as a team or host any demonstration (no matter how small and innocent it may be) without the permission of myself in writing or verbally with a third party present.
What will determine as to whether you are "fit" to do a demo or compete will solely based on how much preparation you have done for the event (ie classes, attendance and attitude). All demos will be thoroughly planned and must be supervised by a senior member of the club. It only takes one accident or one malicious incident to undo any goodwill or history that our club has spent many years to foster with a school board or a tournament host and I don't think anyone would like that type of responsibility hanging over their head.
In matters relating to the school, it is extremely disrespectful to plan anything like this without including myself as a part of the process. For example, demos need to be planned out and practiced ahead of time and not doing so is inviting potential issues and could result in damages.
TOURNAMENTS:
As far as tournaments are concerned, as the only qualified coach at Metro Taekwondo Studio I also need to be included in the process if you have ambitions to compete at higher level tournaments (ie Nationals, Alberta Open, Canada Open, US Open, Mexico Open). The fact of the matter is without a qualified coach, you can not enter those tournaments and if we don't have a team going (I am otherwise not going) then you need to have a coach appointed and the only way that is going to happen is if I make special arrangements for you. Please do not assume that you can compete, it is not that simple a matter.
ALSO: What is good for the goose is not good for the gander! If someone has a special arrangement (ie Josipa getting special training in Surrey) that is because she has spoken to me prior and that arrangement has already been made. Something like that does not apply to everyone by default and its awfully presumptuous to think so.
We will attend the following tournaments and no special arrangements (funding as it pertains to coaching) need to be made:
BC Open
BC Island Open
BC Masters Cup
BC Championships
National Championships (when hosted in BC and your event lands on a weekend)
Maui Open (if we have people interested in going)
Tournaments other than the ones listed above involve travel expenses, staffing costs and take me away from running the school and as such require special arrangements in terms of covering coaching costs. Meaning it is expected to have those costs covered prior to entering those events. The costs can be split equally by all participants attending the events and/or we can cover/offset that amount by fundraising of some kind but at minimum the expectation is to have hotel stay, coaching fees and airfare covered.
We will continue to provide a sparring program free of extra charges other than basic equipment. It has never been our intention to charge for those classes despite other schools doing that to offset coaching fees. I feel that entry into the sport side of Taekwondo should be accessible to everyone at every level. So with that in mind, if you have any ideas on how we can offset coaching fees by fundraising I am open to ideas and would love to hear your suggestions.
Please understand that none of this is to close doors on anyone but more as a simple matter of respect. I will always side on the growth of our students because I want to see everyone reach their potential. As a professional coach, I recognize more than most the stage of development that each particular athlete is in and whether certain activities are in fact right for them and if not I will always provide an honest answer as to where they need to be and how they can get there.
Regards,
Master Ruiter
Metro Taekwondo Studio
PS see you in class!
