Child Protection & Wellbeing Officers Required

Dear ITF Scotland Members,

I hope this email finds you well and thriving in your respective clubs.

As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all our members, we are reaching out to seek volunteers for the important role of Child Protection and Wellbeing Officer within ITF Scotland. We are looking for 4-5 dedicated individuals to join us in this initiative and help us uphold the highest standards of practice in our organisation.

Full training will be provided by SportScotland, and all costs associated with this training will be funded by ITF Scotland. It’s important to note that, as a Child Protection and Wellbeing Officer, you would not be acting in this capacity for your own club, but instead serving in a regional capacity to address and manage any child protection issues that may arise across our member clubs.

Criteria for Interested Candidates:

– Must be a Plaqued member of ITF Scotland

– Must have completed the initial Child Protection and Wellbeing in Sport Training (CWPS)

At ITF Scotland, we are committed to achieving the best possible practice in child protection and wellbeing, and we believe that these standards set us apart from other organisations. Your contribution is invaluable in helping us reach this goal, ensuring the safety and support of all our young members.

If you are interested in becoming a Child Protection and Wellbeing Officer, please express your interest by emailing me at ethandonnelly@itfscotland.com.

Thank you for considering this important opportunity to make a positive impact within our community. We look forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,

Mr Ethan Donnelly 

ITF Scotland Board Member

ITF Scotland ‘C’ Class Qualifying Umpire Course 2024

On Saturday 6 April, an umpire course was conducted by the ITF Scotland Umpire Committee.
The course was a review of the most up-to-date rules for the World Championships and World Cup
events. Upon successful completion of the post course exam, this will allow participants to obtain an
ITF “C” class umpire certificate.


On behalf of the ITF Scotland Umpire Committee, the course presenters were:

Master David McNairn VIII Deg (Chair)

Mrs Jacqui Wallace V Deg

Mr John Munro V Deg


The course was held at the Gmac premises in Livingston, with 43 participants from various groups
within Scotland. The course began with Master McNairn welcoming the attendees and giving thank
to Grandmaster Gordon Wallace IX Deg (ITF Umpire Committee) for his attendance. GM Wallace was
also thanked for his work in the development of the IT Systems in ITF Scotland, assistance with course
material and for the preparation of the C-class exam for the course candidates. His wealth of
experience is a great asset to us all.

Mr Craig Rennie II Degree from the Tournament Committee was also thanked for his attendance in
setting up and providing IT System training for the participants. Mr Rennie has been working alongside
GMW for many years developing the system for use at our Scottish Championships and is now
regularly selected to participate at international events as an IT Umpire.
Master McNairn also introduced the Umpire team who would be presenting throughout the day, and
thanked the other members of the Tournament committee for their attendance – Mrs Lorna Singleton
III Deg (Chair) and Mrs Gillian McIlvaney VI Deg.

The course began with Master McNairn covering some of his and his fellow presenters’ experiences
over the years as international umpires, as an incentive for prospective international umpires to
follow. He then covered rules on pattern, team pattern and team pre-arranged sparring, along with
jury member and equipment verifier roles.

The course allowed participants to view presentations on the rules of competition for both World
Championships and World Cup events, along with practical demonstration of patterns and common
infractions to look for, with intermittent participation from the attendees to act as judges.

The morning session took the course up to 13:00, after which a 20 min break was allowed for lunch.
The afternoon session resumed with Mrs Jacqui Wallace taking the sparring and team sparring part of
the seminar. This section followed a similar format with presentations and practical demonstrations,
along with short videos to show how fast the action can be during sparring bouts, and how sharp the
corner judges, centre referee, jury president and IT umpire must be. Training was also done in points
scoring to work on reaction skills, with participants trying out the various roles as well as practicing
the electronic scoring system for each element. Participants also worked on centre referee hand signals and ring procedures.

The final part of the course was Power Test and Special technique, which was taken by Mr John Munro,
who went through the rules and regulations of this event at World Championship and World Cup level.
ITF Scotland recently purchased the ITF standard Special Technique Holder which was shown to the
participants and will be used at the upcoming Scottish Championships.
After completion of the last part of the course, the floor was given to GM Wallace to explain, for those
participants who wished to take the course exam, how the exam was going to work, and what the
pass mark would be.


In conclusion of the course, Master McNairn thanked everyone for attending, along with the various
teams and individuals for their invaluable assistance in providing the course material and allowing the
course to take place.

Thanks were given to:


Grandmaster Wallace for his input and support with his many years’ experience and knowledge of
international competition rules as a member of the ITF Umpire Committee.


To Mrs McIlvaney and Gmac for providing the course premises and refreshments.


To Mr Craig Rennie for setting up and training participants in the IT system, along with Mrs Lorna
Singleton & Mrs Gillian McIlvaney for their assistance (ITF Scotland Tournament Committee).

And finally, to Mrs Jacqui Wallace for her valuable input in the course material and presenting the
course along with Mr John Munro (ITF Scotland Umpire Committee).

ITF Scotland Umpire Committee

ITF Scotland Umpire Course

Dear Grand Masters, Masters and Instructors,

We are excited to extend an invitation to the ITF Scotland Umpire Course 2024, offering an invaluable opportunity for members of our Taekwon-Do community to enhance their skills and contribute
to the growth of our sport.

Scheduled to take place on 6th April at GMAC Martial Arts, Livingston, this course will not only provide comprehensive training in umpiring and officiating but also offer participants
the chance to attain an ITF C’ Class qualification.

The ITF Scotland Umpire Course is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge, expertise, and confidence required to serve as competent umpires in various Taekwon-Do events. Whether
you are a seasoned practitioner looking to expand your involvement in the competition arena or a dedicated official seeking to advance your qualifications, this course is tailored to meet your needs.

Participants will engage in interactive sessions led by ITF Scotland’s Umpire Committee, with assistance from ITF Scotland’s Tournament Committee, covering essential topics such as rules
and regulations, scoring techniques, referee responsibilities, and practical umpiring exercises. The course curriculum is designed to be comprehensive yet accessible, ensuring that attendees of all levels benefit from this enriching experience.

We invite ITF Scotland members, instructors, coaches, and enthusiasts from 2nd Kup & 16 years plus to seize this opportunity to further their knowledge and skills in umpiring while working
towards achieving a C’ Class qualification. Your active participation will not only contribute to your personal growth but also strengthen our Taekwon-Do community as a whole.

Please mark your calendars and stay tuned to
www.itfscotland.com and our social media channels for further details regarding course agenda, and any additional information.
For booking’s please see your head of group who will facilitate this for you.

For any enquiries or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us via email.

We eagerly anticipate your presence at the ITF Scotland Umpire Course 2024 and look forward to embarking on this educational journey together.

ITF Scotland Umpire Committee

ITF Scotland National Championships 2024

Dear Grand Masters, Masters and Instructors,

With the 2024 National Championships just around the corner, the ITFS T&U Committee wish to advise that the following changes to age brackets will come in to force at this years Championships, also meaning a slight change to the days the competitors will compete, as noted below:

Saturday 11th May 2024

8 years & under (Youth)
9 – 11 years (Cadet)
12 – 14 years (Pre-Junior) – NB These sparring categories will now be contested according to weight.

Sunday 12th May 2024

15 – 17 years (Junior)
18 – 35 years (Senior)
36 years & over (Adv. Senior)
All Additional Support Needs Categories (ASN)

The event & invite will shortly be made available via Sportdata, and email. Please keep an eye out for full details coming soon.

Director Nominations 2024-2028

Dear Grand Masters, Masters and Instructors,

ITF Scotland Board of Directors welcome applications for the up coming available board positions for the next 4 year term 2024 – 2028:

Secretary General
Board Member (PVG)
Board Member

Those members who are interested in applying for the above positions should submit the attached paperwork, alongside a covering letter & CV on or before the closing date of 26th January 2024.

Kind regards

Mrs. Gillian McIlvaney
Secretary General
For and on behalf of ITF Scotland

Masters Seminar and ITFS Awards & Recognition Evening

ITF SCOTLAND MASTERS SEMINAR & BLACK-TIE DINNER 2023

SEMINAR

On Saturday 7th October 2023, the Dunblane Centre, Dunblane was the setting for the first ITF Scotland Master’s Seminar which was the first part in a day of celebration of ITF Scotland members’ notable achievements of recent and historic times.   Later in the evening the first Awards Dinner was held to officially recognise the occasion.

During the morning before the seminar was due to start, one month’s rainfall fell which caused flooding to many arterial routes.  The start was delayed by around half an hour but eventually all those, bar a few, who had registered for the event made it through and the training could commence.

The seminar was led by Grandmaster Gordon Wallace IX Degree, along with Master David McNairn VIII Degree and Master Garry Shaw VII Degree.  Master Dunbar and Master Gilmour had also agreed to assist with the seminar but were unfortunately prohibited from attending due the weather conditions and car problems.  We were pleased to see other Masters and senior grades training at this event, along with ITF Scotland Chairman, Mr Adam Paterson IV Degree.

GM Wallace opened the day and started the session with some fun warm-up games and drills followed by hip mobility exercises and leg dynamics to prepare for kicking exercises that were to follow. The session followed by a focussed discussion and drills on Side kicks and Reverse Turning kicks when used in pattern and technical kicking sequences for grading requirements.  The exercises and drills were performed both by individual and partnered segments.  The session then broke for a short break.

The second session was Ho-Sin Sul led by Master McNairn with assistance from Master Shaw.  This segment was to show some typical attack situations which may occur in daily life, and how these can be countered and dealt with whilst remaining calm and focused inn a stressful situation, utilizing well known and practiced Taekwon-Do techniques.

The methodology behind the techniques demonstrated were:

  • Defend against the attacking tool.
  • Mindset change.
  • Take-down and create an avenue of escape.

In each scenario, the defence techniques and subsequent counter attacks were demonstrated in slow motion so everyone could see the techniques being applied, then slightly faster, culminating in full speed as would be done in a real-life situation.

After a short break GM Wallace announced, that as the day was centred around a day of reflection, he wanted to share his experiences of the old pattern Ko-Dang which he performed many times during his time as a competitor.  He also described the time when Juche was introduced to Europe at the 1984 European Championships in Budapest and performed by the late GM Park Jung Tae.  After a brief discussion of the history of Ko-Dang and the man behind the pseudonym that would be returned several times as the session unfolded, he demonstrated and described the 39 movements.  The remainder of the segment was the group practice of Ko-Dang.

After a short break, GM Wallace concluded the seminar using Reverse Turning Kicks in a competition scenario and emphasised the importance of the sequence practiced in the technical drills that need to be transferred to the sparring scenario if the kick is to be successful in reaching the target and delivered effectively.

GM Wallace then closed the seminar and hoped everyone would manage to negotiate the flooded roads and return for the Awards Dinner a few hours later. 

AWARDS DINNER

A few hours after the seminar, ITF Scotland hosted it’s first Awards Dinner in the Hilton Dunblane Hyrdo in Dunblane.  The evening began with guests meeting in the main foyer for drinks, with canapes being served before moving into the function suite to start the celebrations. 

ITF Scotland Chairman, Mr Adam Paterson IV Degree opened the event with a welcome speech where he introduced our guest of honour, the Honourable Grandmaster MacCallum along with Grandmaster Wallace and the Masters in attendance.  GM MacCallum was presented with a small gift to thank him for his attendance.

The first award presentation was for the members of the Scotland National Team who were successful in becoming European and World Champions in 2023.  This year was a hugely successful year for the National Team with the highest medal haul at a World Championships with 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 6 Bronze medals as well as 4 Gold, 3 Silver and 7 Bronze medals at the European Championships.  All those present, were awarded with a personalised plaque to recognise their achievement. 

The presentations continued with a COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARD for Mrs Jackie Timoney V Degree.  In October 2022, a remembrance tournament was held for Mr Paddy Timoney 5th Degree and the proceeds from this event were very generously donated to the British Heart Foundation and ITF Scotland with each receiving just shy of £3000.  This donation provided ITF Scotland with substantial funds to enable them to give the opportunity to all instructors to gain important lifesaving skills.

Next, a GRATITUDE AWARD to thank Mr John Munro V Degree who is responsible for much of the work that goes unseen at ITF Scotland events, such as dismantling equipment days in advance to transport it and is most often the first man setting up for national events and the last man to leave.

An award was then issued for NEW CLUB OF THE YEAR to Force Taekwon-Do Instructor Mr Ethan Donnelly III Degree.  This club has successfully broken onto the Taekwon-Do scene this past year or so and have become a familiar face in the competitive circuit.

The COMPETITIVE CLUB OF THE YEAR was also recognised – Braveheart Martial Arts, who not only won the overall award at the ITF Scotland Championships in 2022, but they also went on to win again in 2023 with the highest number of gold medals.

Between the speeches, guests were treated to a delicious three-course dinner along with some entertainment from magician and compere Mr Peter Kinney.  This was a great addition to the event.

As this was the first event of its kind for ITF Scotland, it provided the ideal opportunity to mark some long-standing achievements at this special occasion.

The first category was for OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS, where Miss Katrina Carr III Degree was recognised for her successful competitive career.  During this career, she achieved one-time World Champion, one-time Senior European Champion, four-times Junior European Champion as well as two-times Junior World Cup Champion.

Mr Mark Boydell V Degree was also recognised for his INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS in producing multiple World & European Champions from his club Boydell Blackbelt Academies.  He and his students have been equally successful in most of the disciplines in ITF competition, including individual sparring, patterns, team patterns and pre-arranged free sparring.

A PIONEER AWARD was then presented to Master John McIlvaney VII Degree for the development of Assisted Support Needs Taekwon-Do in Scotland.  He has served as a member of the first ITF Worldwide Adaptive Committee for the past 4 years, promoting inclusion in Taekwon-Do to instructors worldwide and is highly involved in delivering and championing sporting opportunity to everyone regardless of their ability or disability.

An INTERNATIONAL UMPIRE RECOGNITION AWARD was the presented to Master David McNairn VIII Degree, who’s International Umpire career began after being selected to officiate at the ITF World Championships in New Zealand in 2011.  To date he has participated in Ten ITF World events which is a fantastic milestone.

We then moved on to a LIFETIME RECOGNITION AWARD for Miss Julia Cross MBE VI Degree, who in her career, achieved a record yet to be surpassed to this day by any other ITF member – 6 times World Champion, 15 times European Champion as well as many more World and European Silver and Bronze medals.  Also inducted into the ITF and AETF Hall of Fame, then honoured with an MBE in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to Taekwon-Do.  This event could not go past without recognising these outstanding achievements and the dedication in all she has done throughout her Taekwon-Do career.

A special recognition award was then presented for Master Sandy Dunbar VIII Degree for 30 YEARS INTERNATIONAL CONTRIBUTION.  Starting as an International Umpire in 1992, this career has now spanned over 30 years. For two decades, he was recognised as one of the ITF’s top centre referees; umpiring in many World individual and Team finals.  Later he became a member of the ITF Tournament Committee, working alongside Grandmaster Bos for over a decade in organising and running the world championships for the ITF.  He then retired from this role and began actively working with the AETF Umpire Committee in the position of Chairman – a role which he continues to this day. 

All award winners received a personalised plaque to mark their achievement.

The final award of the night was the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD in recognition of promotion to Grandmaster 9th Degree which was presented to Grandmaster Gordon Wallace.  We were delighted to finally be able to celebrate this fantastic achievement at this special event.

This impressive career began in 1977 at the age of 17, to receiving Grandmaster at the age of 63.  A career that has spanned from colourbelt, blackbelt, national competitior, international competitor, world champion, instructor, national coach, full-time taekwon-do gym owner, kids Programme developer, master, tournament organiser and developer, international umpire, ITF committee member, international umpire course presenter, to Grandmaster.  In this time, he has also generously passed on the experience he has gained to members of ITF Scotland to help make our events more professional. 

The list of achievements and contribution was simply too long to go through, but we were lucky enough to source a pictorial review of his life in Taekwon-Do.  This was an excellent way of showing highlights of this journey spanning 45-years from where it began in 1977 to his 9th Degree promotion in 2022.

Following this, Grandmaster Wallace received a standing ovation and was presented with a recognition plaque from the Honourable Grandmaster MacCallum IX.  In addition, an engraved bottle of whiskey was presented from Master David McNairn VIII which had been kindly gifted from Mr Andy Lister IV Degree to commemorate his promotion.

The presentations were concluded, and guests were then able to socialise and enjoy the music until late in the evening.  Photographs of all award winners were then taken, and the impressive cake was enjoyed.

The event was a great success and something that we hope to continue hosting in the future. 

Many thanks to the Dunblane Centre, Hilton Dunblane Hydro, Catriona McRoberts for capturing photographs of the presentations, CupcakesbyJen for the amazing cake for Grandmaster Wallace and Llillyroseballoons Dunblane for the ITFS bubble balloon.  Everything was excellent!!

ITFS Masters Seminar & Black Tie Dinner

ITF Scotland is delighted to announce a brand-new event to the calendar for 2023 with the introduction of a Masters Seminar and Black-Tie Dinner which is being held on Saturday 7th October in Dunblane.

Following the promotion of Grandmaster Wallace to IX Degree last year, it seemed the perfect time to host this special event and the first of its kind. We hope that you and your students will join us in celebrating this fantastic milestone, as well as the many achievements which have been made throughout Scotland.

Although the Seminar is for Blackbelts only, the Black-Tie Dinner is open to everyone over twelve years old. The Seminar will be free of charge to all ITF Scotland Blackbelt members who will also be attending the evening event.

We are delighted to announce that Grandmaster Wallace IX will be hosting part of the seminar along with several of ITF Scotland’s Masters and are very grateful to them for providing this opportunity to you all. This will be hosted in the Dunblane Centre, Dunblane from 1-4pm.

Following the seminar, the Black-Tie Dinner and after party will be held in the Dunblane Hydro from 7pm-12am. This will be the perfect chance to get dressed up and enjoy a great evening along with fellow Instructors, students, friends, and family with a variety of award presentations, a three-course dinner and after party/disco.

An opportunity not to be missed!

Tickets can be purchased via the following link: Click Here.

Any members of ITF Scotland Allied Association, ITF England, ITF Wales (and their AA’s) who wish to attend, please get in touch – E-mail us

GM Bos Master Class

TKD Events has extended an invitation to all ITF Scotland members to attend a Master class led by GM Wim Bos 9th Degree (Italy).

This event will be held on Sunday 20th August 2023 @ Wishaw sports centre. The seminar will run from 10am-1pm.

For futher information please contact the organisers directly: eventstkd@gmail.com

Adapted Committee Chair Appointment

ITFS Board of Directors, at a meeting of the board on 27th july 2023, intorduced a brand new committee, and appointed its chair as Master John McIlvaney for the term 2023/24

We would like to wish him all the very best of success in his new role going forward.

At this time those members of ITF Scotland, who wish to be considered for a position on the adapted committee are asked to contact Master McIlvaney directly, or the secretary general with their note of interest and a short resume for consideration, on or before 10th September 2023

ITF Scotland Masters Seminar & Black Tie Dinner

Saturday 7th October

ITF Scotland Masters Seminar

Learn from the years of experience of our Grand Master and Masters from all across the country.

Black Tie Dinner

Bringing ITF Scotlands members together to celebrate achievements of our organisation and our members over the past year.

This event is not to be missed and will sell out!

More details to follow…

#WeAreITFScotland

#TogetherWeGrowTogeherWeProsper