GC&SU hosts successful ATA tournament

Drouillard’s Karate Studio, owned by Dennis Drouillard Sr. and his son, Dennis Drouillard Jr., hosted its first ATA Tournament of Champions at Georgia College & State University Centennial Center last Saturday, March 27.
The ATA (American Taekwondo Association) is the largest martial arts organization, according to Mr. Drouillard Sr., with schools in every state of the Union.
“It takes a lot of work, mostly it’s the facilities in the city, hotels, eateries, and things like that. The last couple of times we applied, that’s probably what hurt us the most,” Drouillard said. Making this the third time they’ve applied to host the tournament. “Now that we have the eateries and the hotels, I applied again and it was approved. It’s a wonderful thing.”
According to Drouillard, the purpose of the tournament is to promote camaraderie amongst the students, to instill sportsmanship, and to have a good time. In the tournament, black belts accumulate points if they place (1st, 2nd, or 3rd). The points are totaled at the end of the year, and the top 10 people compete at the world championship tournament. The world championship tournament has three competitions: form, sparring and weapons. The age range for the ATA tournament spans from three years to sixty years. The tiny tigers include three to five year olds, the silver division is made up of fifty year olds, and the swinging sixty year olds are the gold division.
The ceremony began with formal introductions of the guests.
“ATA and the Korean organization together is very protocol and wants to identify and commend everything,” said Mr. Drouillard Sr. “It’s a way of saying thank you to those people that came. They walked down the aisle and were given the proper courtesy for coming and supporting our tournament.”
Along with local dignitaries, the Sheriff and the Chief of Police, seven Masters from ATA showed their support for the tournament. After becoming a sixth degree black belt, one may apply for the title of Master, which has certain stringent requirements and a formal ceremony of dedication.
“On a scale from one to six, one being the highest, self-defense is probably fourth or fifth. We look at self-control, discipline, and self esteem before that. In all of our schools, there’s a big sign that says, ‘Every kid is a winner and every kid is special,’ and that’s how we treat them,” Drouillard said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 2 2004. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry