29.12.2025 / Ataxon Taekwon-Do Open 2025 / 10th Devils cup

10th annual Ataxon Open sets new records

10th annual Ataxon Open sets new records

On Saturday, November 29, Sonkal organized the 10th annual international competition Ataxon Open – Devil's Cup in taekwondo. Twenty-nine teams from three countries gathered at the sports center in Prague-Řepy, and the starting list included a total of 311 competitors in five age groups.

The total number was truly record-breaking, but so was the composition, as the technical levels have completely changed after years of competition. Previously, yellow and green belts dominated. Currently, the situation is completely reversed, which has a very positive effect on the number of competitors in sports combat! Since last year, the Point Fight discipline has been a great motivation for green belts, providing an excellent precursor to the actual sparring. Competitors gain valuable competition experience before reaching the blue belt and entering regular sparring.

The participation of two girls from Master Andrew Whitley's Thames Valley school was a very interesting addition. Both did very well, especially in the sports competition, and shook up the starting field.
But let's take it one step at a time – the team of sonkalists met in Řepy at 7:00 a.m. and began an intense marathon of preparing the hall for the competition. The weather tried to throw a spanner in the works, or rather, snow... This is definitely not something we couldn't handle, and even though the first teams started arriving at 8:00 a.m., all activities continued successfully. Unfortunately, we had a double setback with the Wi-Fi connection between the scoring and registration systems. First, the malfunction caused a long line of coaches waiting to check the start lists, and then, after the competition started, it was necessary to find out why it wasn't working properly. The fault was not in the electronics from Katóda Olomouc, but in a poorly connected cable. That was also resolved, and then the competition went ahead as planned.

There were a lot of competitors in the youth categories, so the announcement of the best individuals was postponed to a later time than usual, but in the meantime, the junior and senior categories had already started. Among them were a number of representatives from the October World Championships, and there was plenty to see from the stands. After all, when you have six rings on a plate, you have to hurry to make sure you don't miss anything interesting.

Around 6:30 p.m., everything was announced, handed over, decorated, and also celebrated, and we could start the final cleanup. Although it's faster than setting up, it still took about an hour.
A quick look back at the competition is excellent – lots of competitors, teams, enough referees, satisfied competitors and coaches, but I would find one fly in the ointment – the online broadcasts dropping out. Unfortunately, it seems that the phones that have been in use for the last five years have had their best years and it will be necessary to invest in new equipment and upgrade the entire technology. We apologize that you couldn't watch everything as you are used to, but the technology was against us.

Who were the best individuals?
- Younger youth male – Vojtěch Jakůbek, Sonkal
- Younger youth female – Anežka Mračková, Třeboň
- Older youth male – Jakub Matušík, Sonkal
- Older youth female – Jana Vršanová, Dan-Gun
- Younger junior male - Nguyen Trung Hieu, Silla
- Younger junior female – Natálie Hradská, Taekwon-Do Academy Slovakia
- Older junior male – Robert Salaj, Třeboň
- Older junior female – Linda Müller, Sonkal
- Adult male – Tomáš Huda, Narama
- Adult female – Lucie Kaprálová, Třeboň

Ranking of the most successful schools:
1. Sonkal, 14-12-8
2. Silla, 14-7-6
3. Třeboň, 10-1-4

In conclusion, I would like to thank everyone who participated in this year's Ataxon Open. First and foremost, the entire Sonkal team, who prepared, ran, and ultimately cleaned up after the event. Next, the referees, without whom there would be no competition, and of course the coaches and competitors. We look forward to seeing you next year – Sonkal Open on May 16 and Ataxon Open on December 5.

We would also like to thank our partners:
- Prague City Hall for its financial support
- The Czech Taekwon-Do ITF Association for its financial and material support
- Ataxon for the doboks for the most successful individuals.
- Hayashi CZ for its financial support