byCynthia Vespia
It's been nearly ten years since the U.S. Open Taekwondo Championships were held in Las Vegas. The competition started early on Thursday, February 12th. Eager young hopefuls and skilled veterans filled the Tropicana Hotel readying themselves for an intensive three days of competition. You can always note the telltale signs of a fighter: backpack full of gear and nutrients; sweats emblazoned with team logos; headphones keeping outside distractions at bay; and a mask of concentration. Once they stepped inside the ring it was all business. Screams of preparation and in acknowledgment of a point scored sounded out from each individual.

For the first time in the history of the U.S. Open the fighters wore the LaJust Electronic Body Protectors as a scoring system to more accurately track points with each strike. Hits to the body are one point each, where a legal headshot would be two.

"We are excited and gratified to see unprecedented worldwide support for this important event," said USA Taekwondo CEO David Askinas. "The U.S. Open has long been recognized as one of the premiere world events in the sport of taekwondo and USA Taekwondo is known for running the highest level events in the world. We worked very hard to secure a venue in Las Vegas for this event. We also dedicated ourselves to marketing the event for the last six months domestically and internationally and those efforts have clearly paid off. I also think it is fair to say that there is clearly interest in attending a high level taekwondo competition featuring the LaJust electronic body protector scoring system. There is a very good chance this system will be chosen for the upcoming world championships. If you combine all of those factors with the international lure of a Las Vegas vacation there was definitely a chance to make history this year. We are investigating the possibility of making Las Vegas a semi-permanent home for the event and we will be polling our customer base to gauge their interest in returning to Las Vegas in future years."

About 59 different nations were represented, including 17 national teams and 13 Olympians from the 2008 Beijing Games. The U.S. contingent was represented in 47 states and 2008 Olympian Charlotte Craig headlined the list of U.S. Senior Team members taking part in the international competition. Craig was joined by fellow 2007 Senior National Team members Brian Gallagher, Luis Reyes, Dalia Avivi and Eleni Koutsilianos, as well as 2006 Senior Team member Lauren Cahoon. It was an international competition to test against the best. Matches were set so each competitor was fighting a skill set from a different country, something unique they were not accustomed to fighting.
Skilled fighters from every age and weight class were present.. Each represented different training camps and each brought their enthusiasm and intensity, including Nancy McClane from Team Lee fighting out of Texas in the 41-50 division who, after winning her first round, remarked: "I like meeting other ladies my age who compete. It's fun."

Valentine's Day brought no shortage of fighting. Hearts were pumping and competition remained fierce. Your head was on a swivel trying to keep up with all the action in the various rings. Lots of aerials and attempts at aerials were presented this day. Spin wheel kicks to the head seemed to be the emphasis as China took on Mexico in Ring 1 during the 14 and up division.

The final day of competition brought out the cream of the crop. These fighters knew their skills and knew them well. As Mexico took on the Dominican Republic a well placed side kick to the chest flattened Mexico early on. In the stands friends, fans, and supporters of Team Jalisco from Mexico began a chant to fire up their countryman and keep him in the fight.

One of the major upsets of the championships came when Breanna Bordon took on Danielle Pelham. Bordon, a local Las Vegas fighter without a lot of fight time, went in as the expected underdog against the seasoned Pelham. The fight turned out to be a classic.. At one point Pelham took a toe to the eye but she did not falter. The fight went into sudden death overtime and it was Bordon who scored the upset. 

Ceremonies and awards followed to conclude an amazing weekend of competition.
In addition, the U.S. Olympic Committee will be producing a highlight airing from this year's U.S. Open in Las Vegas. The 40-50 minute webcast will appear soon after the event on the USOC's website, http://www.teamusa.org/.