REMINDER: USATKD Athletes Advisory Council 2025-2028 Self Nominations Now Open

USATKD AAC is seeking candidates for the next election to serve from 2025-2028. The mission of the AAC is to communicate the interests and protect the rights of athletes in cooperative support of USATKD in achieving its mission. The AAC is responsible for broadening communication between USATKD and active sparring, poomsae, and paralympic athletes, and serves as a source of input and advice to the USATKD Board of Directors with regard to current and contemplated USATKD policies.

The AAC is composed of 11 individuals: two Team USA Athletes’ Commission (Team USA AC) reps, four sparring reps, three poomsae reps, and two para reps. From these 11 individuals, three AAC members are elected onto the USATKD Board of Directors. The Team USA AC rep is automatically the fourth USATKD Board of Directors member. 

In accordance with updates to the USATKD and AAC bylaws, only 10 Year and 10 Year +  athletes (as defined below) as measured by the November 2, 2024 AAC meeting, are eligible to participate as both candidates and voters in the USATKD AAC elections. 

• USOPC 10 Year Athlete– As defined in the USOPC Bylaws, an athlete who has been selected by their NGB to represent the United States in a Delegation Event or other International Qualifying Competition within the previous 10 years. 

• USOPC 10 Year+ Athlete– As defined in the USOPC Bylaws, an athlete who has been selected by their NGB to represent the United States in a Delegation Event or other International Qualifying Competition,but not within the previous 10 years.

Additionally, for the general AAC and AAC BOD members elections, you must also be a member of USATKD in good standing on the date this announcement was published and be at least 18 years of age as of December 31, 2024. 

There are three (3) voting cycles: 

The first voting cycle will elect one Team USA AC rep and one Team USA AC alternate rep. Voting is open to all members who meet the eligibility requirements as outlined in the Team USA AC bylaws. Both representatives are automatically part of USATKD AAC.  This voting cycle is completed.

The second voting cycle will elect the remaining 9 positions on the AAC which include four sparring reps, three poomsae reps, and two para reps. This voting cycle shall be conducted by each discipline (sparring/poomsae/para). An individual who qualifies under separate disciplines (sparring/poomsae/para) shall be eligible to vote in each election (i.e. if you qualify as both a poomsae athlete and a sparring athlete you may vote in both elections). 

The third and final voting cycle will elect three additional BOD members from the newly elected AAC. This cycle is again open to all members who meet the eligibility requirements as outlined above for the USATKD AAC. The ballots will be sent to the email address registered in your Sport:80 membership account.

If you believe you are eligible and are interested in running for the USATKD AAC, please fill out this form before the end of the day Friday, November 1, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact Associate Director of National Teams Eric Wininger (ewininger@usatkd.org) and Director of Athlete Affairs Sherman Nelson (snelson@usatkd.org). When writing your statement, please express your qualities and experiences in being able to advocate for athletes. These statements will be circulated to eligible members during the voting process.   

Below is the election timeline and process for the USATKD AAC general members and AAC BOD members:  

Thursday, September 19. Nominations/self-nominations for Team USA AC rep and general AAC reps now open. Vetting for eligibility begins as nominations come in. (Completed)

Tuesday, September 24. AAC Candidate Zoom info session #1 from 12-1PM ET (access slides here)

Friday, October 18. AAC Candidate Zoom info session #2 from 7-8PM ET (access slides here)  

Friday, November 1. Self-nominations for the AAC general reps are due by the end of the day. 

Friday, November 8. USATKD shall distribute the list of eligible nominees, along with statements of intent and other candidate submissions, disclosures, and voting instructions to eligible voters. 

Friday, November 8 - Friday, November 15. USATKD shall conduct an election where the top four vote-getters for sparring, top three vote-getters for poomsae, and top two vote-getters for para are named to the council (note: per USATKD AAC Bylaws only one 10 Year+ Athlete may serve in each discipline, all subsequent positions must be 10 Year Athletes). 

By Friday, November 22. USATKD shall notify the membership of the USATKD AAC election results. An onboarding meeting of new members will take place December 7 over zoom. 

Saturday, December 7. Onboarding meeting of new AAC members. At this meeting, the AAC will receive nominations of those interested in running for the USATKD Board positions. In December, USATKD will run a third voting cycle for the AAC BOD reps. 

The ideal candidate will:
● Study/utilize the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act
● Possess high communication/collaboration skills
● Advocate in best interest of all USA Taekwondo athletes
● Participate in monthly meetings
● Participate in long-term strategic initiative