The Australian Taekwon-Do Alliance (which we refer to as ‘the Alliance’) is a national umbrella organisation for Taekwon-Do organisations. Any Australian Taekwon-Do group, school or club can join in order to receive the benefits and advantages of a large, supportive organisation without loss of their individual identity.
What is the objective of the Alliance ?
We founded the Alliance to support Australian Taekwon-Do organisations in their daily activities. This includes a broad base of support for events, enhanced opportunities for elite athletes and organisational support for marketing. By providing a national body it enables access to funding opportunities that may otherwise not be available to local organisations.
The Alliance enables all of this for member organisations and their students without requiring internal organisational or management change. The Alliance provides a national Taekwon-Do organisation that delivers administrative and policy stability to the ITF membership in Australia.
It is about students, not power bases.
Who controls the Alliance ?
The Alliance is controlled by its membership:
- All shareholders have a voice in the choice of CEO.
- All shareholders have a say on the composition of their executive committee.
- Anyone can hold any of these positions, regardless of rank.
- Administrative and other skills are recognised and utilised.
All actions of the Alliance and its executive committee are regulated by an ASIC-approved constitution, which has been reviewed and ratified by members. Any amendments to this constitution must be circulated to members, reviewed and then voted on in a meeting consisting of a minimum number of members (as specified within the constitution). The Alliance has been set up this way to prevent any one person or small group – either senior in the Alliance organisational structure or senior in terms of Taekwon-Do rank – from being able to change procedures and rules for their own benefit.
Who will ‘OWN’ and CONTROL my organisation ?
The constitution of the Alliance is very clear. Under this constitution the Alliance does not do any of the following:
- It does not interfere in how an Alliance member organisation runs itself. The organisations that join the Alliance have invested their own money, time and caring to grow to their current strength. We give these organisations a national umbrella organisation to support them, to which they can belong without fear of being taken over or told they have to join a particular school.
- It does not tell any organisation who they can or cannot associate with. We live in a free world. If an Alliance member organisation already belongs to other associations or organisations, that is their business. The Alliance seeks to help its members, not dictate to them. If the Alliance does a good job in future years, its members will recognise this and make their decisions accordingly.
- The Alliance does not spend money without proper checks and controls. At every AGM of the Alliance, a formal auditors’ report is presented and approved by the shareholders. Clear rules and oversight of the executive committee ensure complete transparency of any activities.
- It does not demand a share of revenue from member organisations. Anyone joining the Alliance knows at the outset the current annual membership.
- It does not take all the proceeds from events.
What are the benefits of joining the Alliance ?
Member organisations of the Alliance profit on several levels:
- You will have a larger range of participants at any of your events that are Alliance sanctioned. The Alliance advertises events among its member organisations and encourages participation.
- Alliance testings – for some smaller organisations, it can be hard for senior ranks to find a rank senior enough to test them or teach them their own syllabus. The Alliance runs testings – in particular for these senior ranks – which may be presided over by fully trained and Alliance-sanctioned 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th degree black belts.
- Support for students in the form of courses/ seminars, tournaments, testings and training sessions run by other member organisations giving all the opportunity for a broad range of input.
- Advertisement of your organisation and events on the National Website and associated social media.
- The opportunity to use the Alliance Logo on your marketing material to show potential members the opportunities you can provide through being part of the Alliance.
Furthermore, the Alliance is preparing to enable all its members access to national funding opportunities where available. It is also working to provide national purchasing power and scale to its member organisations for sourcing of insurance and other services.
Do I have to leave my current organisation ?
No. Unlike many other national and international organisations, the Alliance does not require member bodies to sit exclusively under the Alliance banner. Many of our current member organisations have affiliations with other bodies of varying levels. The Alliance does not wish to interfere with those relationships as the aim of the Alliance is to facilitate Taekwon-Do opportunities for students who wish to learn and progress – other organisations may provide alternative opportunities that students have every right to utilise.
Note: The official logo is registered, all regulatory requirements are completed and it is a formally registered trademark (™). Any marketing material, websites or other media on which the logo appears must be sanctioned in writing for use of the logo by the Alliance.