Tae Kwon Do Club Making Strong Efforts to Expand
Members practicing the skill. Photo courtesy of UWSP Taekwondo Club

Tae Kwon Do Club Making Strong Efforts to Expand

Seven years ago, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point created one of its many clubs offered here on campus, the Tae Kwon Do Club.

The club has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the years but is starting to put together a plan to get some more consistent member numbers.

The club has consisted of as many as 30 members recently, but this semester has had around five participants regularly, a number current participants would like to increase.

“Our number one thing right now is to get the numbers up a little bit. We are going to start doing a little more advertising next semester early on to get the word out and interest up,” treasurer Matthew Kleine said.

One big issue he believes has been holding the club back is comfort. He said members welcome all people of any level to come join them, as they try to portray a laid back and fun environment that can adapt to anybody.

“You don’t have to be a black belt or anything to join the club. We encourage the people that come to dress in what they would normally wear, no gowns or robes, girls come with high heels sometimes, guys come with button down shirts. We try to make it as normal a situation as possible,” co-president Amanda Salm said.

Twice a week the club meets up to practice the craft and occasionally competes in tournaments out of town.

“We just recently competed in a tournament down in Madison that had around 30 contestants, and going into next semester part of our plan is to compete in some more of these types of events,” Kleine said.

And members are not constricted to doing just Tae Kwon Do. The club offers different styles of the craft to fit what each person is trying to do.

Funding for the club goes toward a variety of different things, such as the out of town tournaments, equipment and gym time. It normally meets in the UWSP Health Enhancement Center and is led by different instructors each week.

“We just want people to be comfortable, not be afraid to come and do something that we believe can be very fun, and we adjust to do whatever the members want to try to make it as enjoyable an experience as it can be,” co-presiden Celia Hein said.

When all is said and done, the club leaders believe that with the proper amount of exposure, they can expand the club to be one of the more popular groups on campus.

“Our big thing is that it can be for everybody. We aren’t this strict club with uniform rules or anything. It is all about getting people together for the experience and learning a skill that not all people have,” Salm said.

 

Charles Klumb

Sports Reporter

cklum166@uwsp.edu

 

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