The American Taekwondo Association Taekwondo Tournament "Class A" Event Comes to the Chicago Southland

Lynwood, Ill. – Martial Artists from all over the country will descend onto the Southland Center, a Ho-Chunk Enterprise in Lynwood, Ill. for the American Taekwondo Association Taekwondo Tournament "Class A" Event, a two-day tournament March 4-5, 2016.

The Class A event is the largest Taekwondo Tournament held in Illinois. Over 800 competitors of all ranks from the beginner white belts to the advanced black belts as high as 5th degrees, are expected to attend to win trophies, medals and qualification points towards State, District and World Titles. Competitors from ages three through 75 yrs. old will gather to test their Taekwondo skills against others of similar rank and age.

The competitors will participate in forms, sparring, combat weapons, weapons and extreme competitions. Friday’s competition will start at 6:30PM with the youngest competitor division, Tiny Tigers. Immediately following will be a few Black Belt rings. The majority of the competition will be on Saturday starting with opening ceremonies at 8:00AM. The first competitions will start at 8:45AM and run until 4:30PM.

Grandmaster S. H. Lee, a 9th degree black belt, will be the special guest at this prestigious event and there will also be a multitude of Master Instructors attending who will judge the higher-level competitions. “Having the American Taekwondo Association Taekwondo Tournament "Class A" Event in the Chicago Southland is a tremendous achievement,” said Jim Garrett, President / CEO for the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Families will come from all over the country to visit the Chicago Southland, stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and will have a positive economic impact on the region.”

Chief Master P. Barnum, the host of the American Taekwondo Association Taekwondo Tournament "Class A" Event, credits the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau with arranging the great location. "Joel Koester from the Visit Chicago Southland was so helpful in understanding the needs of an event this size and finding the perfect location for the venue,” said Chief Master P. Barnum. “He also helped arrange local hotels to handle the accommodations for out-of-state competitors."

The general public is welcome to attend this family friendly competition. Whether you are a martial arts enthusiast or just curious about how martial arts tournaments actually run, the American Taekwondo Association Taekwondo Tournament "Class A" Event is worth attending. For more information call (630) 271-1200 or visit the tournament website, ATAtournament.com

The Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau is the official destination management and marketing organization for Chicago’s 60 south and southwest suburbs. The Visit Chicago Southland markets the Chicago Southland region as a destination for leisure, meetings and conventions, group tour and sports events. For more information, go to VisitChicagoSouthland.com