If youth is the future, Bay of Plenty is emerging as a major force in national taekwondo ranks, with our region dominating the New Zealand team heading to the world junior championships in Egypt.
Flying out today for the four-day tournament are Tauranga youngsters Daniel Earwaker, Jamie Carpenter and Tayla Price, alongside Nikau Teddy, of Opotiki, a clubmate of Earwaker and Carpenter at Welcome Bay Olympic taekwondo club.
Selected after last October's Taekwondo New Zealand Black Belt nationals, the foursome have been training six days a week.
Teddy has been travelling to join her Welcome Bay clubmates on Sundays, while Price is a member of the Yong-In Taekwondo Academy at Mount Maunganui.
Boosting the Welcome Bay presence in the travelling contingent even more is Carpenter's dad and Welcome Bay club coach Garry, trainer-manager of the seven-strong team and TNZ operations manager.
Open to fighters aged 14-17 and held every two years, the WTF world junior championships are being staged in Sharm El Sheikh and begin next Thursday.
For Bay fighters to comprise more than half a national side was a major shot in the arm for taekwondo in the region, Garry Carpenter said.
"It's a very good sign, our area has started to show dominance. Previously there has only been the odd Bay of Plenty junior in the team, never more than that," Carpenter said.
"After two development seminars in Auckland this year, the TNZ executive is very happy with the team's progress and with each seminar we'd push the team a bit more."
His daughter, Jamie, 15, has competed overseas and claimed silver in the female under-55kg division at the Australian Open on the Gold Coast last September.
She's been training intensively since and booked her ticket to Egypt by winning gold the next month at the national black belt titles in Auckland.
A Tauranga Girls' College student and second dan black belt, Jamie Carpenter is keyed up for the world tournament and eyeing bigger things beyond.
"I'm really excited, I've been counting down the days.
"Long term, I want to qualify for the Olympics, in either four or eight years," she said.
Previous overseas forays should stand her in good stead. Initially apprehensive about going to the 2010 Oceania titles, she came up against a 17-year-old opponent and lost by a mere point.
"Afterwards I thought, 'I could have won that'. I wanted to get back out on the mat."
Aged 17, Daniel Earwaker is a first dan black belt and will be competing in the male under-68kg grade.
The Tauranga Boys' College student won gold at the Gold Coast Open in 2010 and 2011, topped the podium at last year's TNZ Open and came away from the Black Belt nationals with silver to clinch a spot in the team for Egypt.
That silver came the hard way - Earwaker competing in the under-73kg division and downing a heavyweight opponent on his way to the final.
"The New Zealand selectors wanted to see me fight a heavyweight, and offered me the under-68kg position [in the national junior team] if I could diet down to that," he said.
Having achieved black belt grading at his only chance before the qualifying tournament, Earwaker wasn't about to eat away all the hard work and is set to sneak under the weight limit.
Training for the past two years under Master Lee at the Mount's Yong-In academy, Tayla Price has reigned supreme in her divisions since taking up taekwondo about six years ago, and is in the girls' under-48kg grade.
Aged 14, the Mount College pupil has won national and lesser titles every year, apart from a break from competition about three years ago.
As with Jamie Carpenter, the world juniors event is the pinnacle of her career to date and also a potential stepping stone.
"When I was about 8 I wanted to go to the Olympics, so I've wanted to be in a New Zealand team ever since," the first dan black belt said.
Price has a specific goal for next week: "I want to at least win my first fight, because no one from New Zealand has done that before."
She will also be eligible for the next world juniors and undoubtedly has the mettle to get there. "I like fighting. It's addictive."
Aged 16, Nikau Teddy is a first dan black belt and will compete in the female under-59kg division.
The 2010 WTF junior championships attracted 696 competitors from 96 countries. In line with Olympic competition, the event features sparring only, not poomsae routines.
As trainer, Garry Carpenter ensures the team are sharp physically. Honing the boys' strategies are former Oceania heavyweight champ and national seniors mainstay Dafydd Sanders, while two-times All China champ and longtime China representative Gina Guo fills the same role with the girls.
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