GTF’s schools campaign takes off tomorrow

A team of four young Korean Taekwondo experts comprising two males and two females have arrived in Ghana to participate in a Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF) exercise to promote the adoption of Taekwondo as an extra curriculum in schools.

The exercise, dubbed School-to-School Taekwondo Campaign (#S2STkdCamp20), will see the team, supported by a local team, tour mainly the Greater Accra Region and move from school to school to showcase the qualities and benefits of taekwondo for school children of all ages.

The drive by the GTF is to expand its practitioner base by selling the “taekwondo idea” to especially international schools.

According to the Secretary General of the GTF Adnan Odartey Lamptey, who doubles as the Coordinator of the exercise, “Ghana has been benefiting from the World Taekwondo Peace Corps (WTPC) programme for the past few years. Through the programme a team of four young Taekwondo practitioners with majors in Taekwondo is sent to Ghana to promote global peace through Taekwondo.”

“All previous 10 regions in Ghana have benefited from the programme. Public schools have been the target over these years.”

Taekwondo is a martial art and a sport that offer many benefits to children. It improves motor skills, helps to correct attention disorder, controls hyperactivity, sharpens the reflex, instils self-discipline and promotes overall fitness. Taekwondo is also a survival skill that endows children with leadership qualities.

Mr Lamptey said the GTF has been concerned about the low adoption of taekwondo in schools and the use of unqualified instructors by some schools without recourse to the GTF which is representing the World Taekwondo (WT) in Ghana. 

The visits to the schools will be arranged with the schools with sessions expected to take between 15 to 30 minutes.

The team will carry out a brief presentation about taekwondo and put up a demonstration. 

Over 50 schools are targeted in this exercise which will commence tomorrow and end on February 7, 2020. 

The GTF’s mandate is to regulate and manage Taekwondo in Ghana. As a combat sport, Taekwondo requires qualified instructors certified by the GTF through regular coaching courses.

BY TIMES SPORTS REPORTER