Friday, June 19 there was an opening ceremony at Dulles Expo Center for the18th Annual Korean American Sports Festival. The festival included athletes of many ages from cities across the United States. Photo by Ryan Dunn.
From June 19 - 21, Herndon helped host the 18th Annual Korean American Sports Festival. The 18th Korean American National Sports Festival (KASF) is a semi-annual national event where Korean American's celebrate heritage through sports. Festival President Ahn Kyung-ho said Washington D.C., had been the host to eight successful events. “Korean-American’s are the only minority to have multi-sports events in the USA and I am very proud to host this year’s event in D.C.,” said Sam Chung, chair of the 2015 KASF Organization Committee.
Sam Chung said the Korean American community, including sports figures, politicians and churches, helped pull together for the event. On Friday, June 19 there was an opening ceremony at Dulles Expo Center. Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Sharon Bulova and Town of Herndon Council member Grace H. Wolf attended the ceremony. “I commend the Korean American Sports Association of Greater Washington dedication to enhancing Korean American athletics and supporting athletics excellence,” stated Wolf.
At the Friday evening opening ceremony, the festival’s Grand Marshall, 1984 Olympic gold medalist Seo Hyang-Soon demonstrated her archery skills. “This festival is truly a remarkable gathering of sportsmen and women from across the nation and a proud presentation of diversity and investment in our community,” said Del. Mark L. Keam (D-35).
Many of the sport events took place within Herndon. On Saturday, the tennis, track and field, judo, soccer, and taekwondo events were held at Herndon High School. Herndon Community Center was the festival headquarters and helped host the games. On Sunday, June 21, a 10K and 5K race were held. The courses went through historic downtown Herndon, and were USATF certified. The closing ceremony was Sunday, June 21, at Herndon’s Bready Park. Sponsors for the sports festival included Telos, Delta and Rally Sports.