At the end of June, 13 members of the Peak Performance VA taekwondo team traveled to Dallas and Ft. Lauderdale to compete at two national championships, one under USAT and the other, AAU. These are two major organizations for amateur sports in the U.S.
The athletes’ ages range from 11 to 17, both males and
females. At the USAT Championship, the team’s athletes met three-time taekwondo Olympian Stephen Lopez.
While not every Peak Performance member came home with a medal, everyone returned with a tremendous amount of experience and growth. Out of 13 athletes, Peak Performance had six athletes who made the top four and will be invited to compete at the U.S. team trials in Florida in September for a position on the AAU U.S. Junior and Cadet Team. They are: Andrew Snow, Taylor Jones, Quang Pham, Celine Prenatt, Norman Warner and Emily Kaii-Ziegler. If an athlete makes the team, the athlete will get to compete internationally. Tentatively, the AAU U.S. Junior/Cadet team will compete in Europe early next year, either at the German or Spain Open.
Additionally, Snow, a 14-17 male black belt middle weight, is the 2012 USAT silver medalist. Chelsea Jenkins, a 14-17 female red belt, is a 2012 gold medalist.