US Olympic and Jr World Team Trials

Oahu Taekwondo Center (Aiea, Hawaii) will be taking a team of seven local athletes to compete at the upcoming event hosted by USA Taekwondo; the two team trial events will be held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Jaysen Ishida of Waikele, Hawaii will compete in Phase 7 of the 2012 Olympic Team Trials on Friday (Jan. 13). The Olympic Team Trials will feature 27 athletes in four weight divisions and will consist of those athletes who were eligible for the first phase of the team trials in November 2010. The four winners from this week's double-elimination format will earn the right to face the top seeds in their respective weight divisions at the final phase of the Olympic Trials to be held March 10-11 in Colorado Springs.

The second event is the Junior World Open Team Trials will take place on Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 14-15). The Junior World Championships Open Team Trials will feature 224 athletes, age 14-17, vying for one of 20 spots on the U.S. team that will compete at the 9th WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, April 4-8. Twenty weight divisions (10 male, 10 female) will be contested over the weekend with the top finishers earning a place on the U.S. team. Alec Coopman (Kapolei, Hawaii) and Mandy McCutcheon (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) will be competing on Saturday. Ethan Vargas (Pearl City, Hawaii), Mark Ciparro (Mililani, Hawaii), Jon Ciparro (Mililani, Hawaii) and Blaise Castagnetti (Mililani, Hawaii) will compete on Sunday.