2018 USA Taekwondo National Championships

2018 Baystate Taekwondo USAT Nationals Competitors

 It's that time of year again.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we are all reminded to think long and hard about what we are thankful for this year.  Topped only by our family road trip to Walt Disney World, one of the things I am most grateful for is the opportunity to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah to cheer my 14 year old son on as he competed and placed 3rd in poomsae at the 2018 USA Taekwondo National Championships.  In addition to that amazing moment, our family spent almost an entire week with the other Baystate Taekwondo Competition Team families, who are like extended family to us.  So many wonderful memories were made, and for that I am also grateful.

During the week of July 2nd, seven Baystate Taekwondo Competition Team athletes and their families traveled across the country to Salt Lake City along with their coaches, Master John Alves and Mr. Christopher Alves, to compete in the 2018 USA Taekwondo National Championships. Ranging from ages 9 to 17, each of these young athletes train alongside their teammates at Baystate Taekwondo Academy in Massachusetts year-round to compete on a state and national level with only a 7-week hiatus during the summer.

From continuing on after sustaining injuries to exhibiting great sportsmanship no matter the outcome, these young athletes are an inspiration to us all. The results were as follows for each competitor in their age, rank, and weight divisions:

(From left to right) Sumeet Nijjar, Danveer Nijjar, Victoria Lewis, Abhaya Sundar, Keira Macauley, Elizabeth Levin, and Jake Coutu

• Keira Macauley, age 9, placed 5th in poomsae and 3rd in sparring, taking home her first USAT bronze medal.
• Four-time Nationals medalist, Victoria Lewis, age 12, placed 3rd in poomsae and 2nd in sparring, earning her 3rd bronze and 1st USAT silver medal.
• Three-time Nationals medalist, Elizabeth Levin, now age 13, placed 5th in poomsae and 1st in sparring, earning her first USAT gold medal, and making her the 2018 National Champion in her sparring division.
• First time competitor, Abhaya Sundar, age 12, placed 5th in poomsae and 2nd in sparring, earning her 1st USAT silver medal.
• First time competitor, Danveer Nijjar, age 13, placed 9th in poomsae and 5th in sparring.
• Two-time Nationals medalist, Jake Coutu, age 14, placed 3rd in poomsae, taking home his 2nd USAT bronze medal.
• Sumeet Nijjar, age 17, placed 1st in sparring, earning him his first USAT gold medal, and making him the 2018 National Champion in his sparring division.

Looking back on this year’s trip to Nationals, the owner of Baystate Taekwondo Academy, Master John Alves, says, “Work hard, train hard, stay focused, and last; commit to your art 100% to achieve your ultimate GOAL.”

Proud families of the Baystate Taekwondo 2018 USA Taekwondo National Championships competitors.

The achievements of these young athletes in Salt Lake City were made possible due to the endless support of the Baystate Taekwondo instructors, coaches, the Baystate Taekwondo community, led by Mary Alves, and the support of businesses, such as Google LLC, American Consumer Credit Counseling, The Fine Arts Theatre Place, Stop & Shop Supermarkets and their patrons, Orthopedics New England, and The PaisleyHanger Boutique.

What are you thankful for this year?

Tell us in a comment here.

Creating With Colors: Thankful Thanksgiving Turkey Craft

It has been awhile since I've been able to fit a craft project into my schedule, but I just had to do something with my kindergartner for Thanksgiving. So I ended up looking around to see what supplies I had. I decided that it would be nice for my son to create something that expressed what he is thankful for this year. I also wanted to make something a little more substantial than a paper turkey.



Today's Project: Thankful Turkey

Ask your child to create a turkey with colorful tail feathers, on which your child will write what he or she is thankful for this year.


Supplies Needed:

1) Corrugated cardboard at least as large as your child's hand. (We used a flap from a cardboard box.)

2) Foam bracelets (May be substituted with strips of construction paper cut in the shape of feathers)

3) Colorations Washable Markers in fall colors (We suggest yellows, oranges, reds, browns, greens, purple, and black.)

4) A pencil

5) Pair of age-appropriate scissors

6) White glue

Step 1: Have your child place his or her hand palm down on the cardboard. Then have your child loosely trace the hand with a pencil.

Step 2: Using the pencil, add a triangle for the turkey's beak.

Step 3: Using the scissors, help your child cut out the hand shape with the scissors following along the pencil outline.

Tip #1: It might be helpful to your child if you could find a color photo or a drawing in a book or magazine of a turkey to use as reference.

Step 4: Have your child color in the turkey with the markers. The turkey can be as simple or detailed as your child would like.

Step 5: Ask your child what he or she is thankful for this year or why he or she might feel lucky. You may need to offer suggestions if your child cannot think of enough reasons.

Step 6: Have your child write each reason he or she is thankful on a single feather. We used 6 feathers, but you can use as many feathers as you would like. You do not need to write something on every feather.

Tip #2: To leave enough space for gluing the feathers onto the turkey, ask your child to leave a thumb's length before starting the writing on each feather.

Step 7: Glue each feather onto the back of the turkey one at a time, trying to place them so they are evenly spaced out and are all a similar length. Allow several minutes for the glue to set.

Tip #3: Although my son did not want to do this, your child can glue an additional layer of feathers behind the first layer of feathers to create a fuller look.

Step 8: (Optiona) Have your child write his or her name on the body of the turkey.

This is the final result of our project:

This turned out to be a very simple and quick craft project. In the end, it is the exercise of thinking about what your child is thankful for that is the real value of this activity.

Thank you to Discount School Supply for providing the markers for this project.