Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Senior-friendly Mercer County Nationals, March 22nd.

Just a quick reminder to those of you who are looking for a very well run and senior-friendly martial-arts tournament: the 19th annual Mercer County Nationals will be held on March 22nd at Rider University.  According to tournament director Master Ivan Mendez, the event will offer more than 145 divisions to accommodate competitors of all ranks, all ages, and all martial-arts styles.  Last year's tournament attracted 450 competitors and 700 visitors, and this year's version incorporates a number of highly attractive elements.  Among them:
     -- the tournament will take place in two Rider University gyms, not just one, in order to keep things on schedule;
     -- the event will feature several new divisions, including age 50-59 black belts, age 60+ black belts, age16-17 continuous sparring (lightweight and heavyweight), and black belt team sparring (3- or 5-person teams);
      -- and a portion of the tournament's proceeds will be donated to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
   As always, the tournament is open to competitors from anywhere in the U.S. as well as to non-U.S. competitors.  So if you're looking for a way to make some new martial-arts buddies while participating in some senior-friendly competition, this is the way to go.  I can tell you that this is one of my favorite tournaments of the year.
   For more information, click over to the tournament flyer, Mercer County Nationals.
   Whether this will be your first tournament ever or the first one in a long time, I hope to see you there.
                                      All the best.

2 comments:

  1. I sparred 5 yrs ago at 61 with a 27 yr old kid ending up with 2 cracked ribs.would be better for me to spar or come to in an over 60 division.

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  2. It makes perfect sense to compete by age group. This year the World Taekwondo Federation added a 66+ division for forms, and you can absolutely find tournaments that offer senior age groups for sparring. Stick with it, but be selective when choosing tournaments.

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Many thanks for sharing your comments with Seniors in the Martial Arts. Best wishes for continued success with your training.