Four members of Triumph Martial Arts in Pella traveled to Sioux City this month to compete for District Championships. Chief Instructor, Matt White, along with Instructor Logan White and Triumph members Chase Swenson and Makenna Lewin each earned the right to compete for this prestigious title by earning points for victories throughout the 2021-2022 tournament season.
According to Matt White, Chief Instructor, “We often tell our ATA Taekwondo members that ‘to Compete is to Win.’ It might sound cliche, but the reality is that it takes a lot of preparation, effort and confidence to compete at a regional tournament. You have to commit to extra training, as well as commit to driving to those competitions. The closest ATA competitions for our region are a minimum of 4 hours away, so it’s not something you just decide to do on a whim.”
Triumph members have competed in several regional and national competitions over the past year. Triumph competitors earned a total of eight State Champion titles:
2022 STATE CHAMP TITLES:
Makenna Lewin – State Champ in Forms and Sparring competition
Chase Swenson – State Champ in Forms, Sparring and Combat Sparring competition
Emmalee Spurgeon – State Champ in Weapons competition
Matt White – State Champ in Sparring and Combat Sparring competition
ATA competitions provide opportunities to earn Champion titles at the State (50), District (9) and World (1) levels. State Champ title winners automatically advance to District competitions, and Black Belts who earn District Champ titles are invited to compete for World Champion in the Tournament of Champions at the ATA World Championships each year. Against competitors from Iowa, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota this past weekend, three of Triumph’s members earned District Champion titles.
2022 DISTRICT CHAMP TITLES:
Makenna Lewin – District Champ in Forms competition
Chase Swenson – District Champ in Sparring competition
Logan White – District Champ in Forms and Sparring competition
“We are so proud of Makenna, Chase and Logan for earning District Champ titles this past weekend,” said White, “and we are excited to watch both Chase and Logan compete on a national stage. This is not their first time competing at ATA World’s, however we know how challenging it is to earn the right to compete there. We also know that in those rings, you are truly competing against the bestT of the best, so it’s not only exciting but also nerve-wracking as well.”
Three families will be traveling to Phoenix in a month for the ATA World Championships, including the Swensons, the Lewins, and the Whites.