The first words from the President of the FETREP (Federación de Taekwon-Do Estilo ITF de la República del Paraguay) and chair of the Organizing Committee of the IX Central South American Championships, Sbn Fernando Arrúa, were welcoming all the athletes, coaches, family members and the general public who arrived from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and, of course, the locals of Paraguay.
He also especially thanked the National Sports Secretariat of Paraguay for the support received and the national authorities present.
For his part, he dedicated a special paragraph to thank and recognize the enormous dedication and professionalism of the Umpires to make this Championship a success.
Finally, he especially thanked the ITF Treasurer, Master Leonardo Oros Duek, who came directly from Israel to provide official support to Taekwon-Do in the Central and South American region, to the hosts and, in particular, to this event.
In turn, Master Duek himself took the floor, and conveyed the warm greetings sent by the President of the ITF, GM Paul Weiler.
Next, the official representative of the ITF highlighted the work of the Organizing Committee and dedicated deep gratitude and congratulations to the Organizing Committee, to FETREP for the initiative and to the National Sports Secretariat of Paraguay for its support of this event of continental magnitude.
As a separate paragraph, he also showed gratitude to the official Sponsors for their presence, and made a special mention of the impressive facilities.
“Personally, it is my fourth visit to Paraguay where 4 years ago we introduced Adapted Taekwon-Do, and it is a great joy that, for the first time in Central and South America, it has been introduced in a Championship of these characteristics, a competition for people with disabilities.”
“In addition, I am very happy to see the participation of 1,058 competitors from more than 10 countries, and to see the work done by the organizers, umpires, and volunteers”, concluded Master Duek.
Photographs courtesy of Communications of the National Sports Secretariat of Paraguay.
Umpires, with an eye on continuous improvement – IX Central and South American Championship
