Touch continues Saturday mornings in Yongsan Family Park

....at least until the rain makes it untenable....keep coming down and beat the suicide month!

Seoul Touch legend bows out...

Four years ago when Duncan Cole arrived in Seoul, Touch was being played occassionally and erratically along the banks of the River Han. Of course, the Seoul Survivors were playing as part of their training and other groups of Touch-minded individuals were running out around the peninsula and there was even the occasional tournament. But no real continuity.....

When Mark Lamb pulled a hamstring in a two-on-two session (turnouts could be quite small those days), Duncan took up the reins, cajoling, organising and harrying players to drag themselves out, early on Saturday mornings to play. Thise were not the only essential skills Duncan had to display; he was famous for arriving each morning with another bag of sand to fill in pot holes on the pitch next to Hannam Bridge. There is some suspiscion this may have cause subsidence in Itaewon! His diplomatic skills were stretched too, in the endless negotiations with the local authorities on the use of their precious grass.

It was the problems in obtaining a reliable place to play, one where the fate of nations did not seem to be at risk, that led to the foundation of the ITS tournaments in 2006....a chance to open a dialogue with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Duncan did need some persuausion to go for the grand design that became ITS....and his leadership in it's formation and execution was critical.

Meanwhile, playing numbers continued to grow and in 2007, an attempt was made to form a league with Duncan duly leading his Hangang Exiles team to victory. He also took his team on their first international outing, to Hong Kong's Inter Cities tournament in May 2007.

Things went from strength to strength, this years Spire Touch Championship has seen three tournaments in Korea, with more scheduled for later in the year.

Despite this being a holiday season, on his farewell run, a normal crowd of about 40 players turned out for a run, a BBQ, a couple of beers and to send him off.

Duncan leaves Touch in Korea on a firm foundation and a legacy that we have to protect....his commitment to exposure of the sport has been rewarded....our loss is Libya's gain!

June 21 Touch Tournament Gumi Thanks

June 21 Touch Tournament Gumi Thanks

Waegook Cook and the Waegook Cook Rugby Teams want to thank everyone who attended our first tournament. As expected there were a few glitches, but overall everything went very well and everyone seems to have had a great time. Congratulations to Te Wai Pounamu on their victory and the all the teams for their valiant efforts and good sportsmanship. The teams all played well and we got some great action shots. We apologise for the confusion with the bus stops and the Royal Frogs having to combine with other teams. We will work hard to eliminate these problems before the next tournaments in Gumi.

We want to thank:

All the teams
Supporters
Referees
Scorer
Wietsche and Conrad for volunteering their free services as refs
Band - Crying Foxes
Cheerleaders and Medics - Renier and Stephanie
Bus drivers and Craig's Weon Jang Nim for transporting the people
Waegook Cook Staff especially Sugi and Noona
The girls who helped with the preparation, orders, tickets and serving the food
Keith, Martin, Conrad and all the Waegook Cook Players who helped marking the field
Everyone who helped setting things up and cleaning up
Evan and the truck drivers for transporting equipment
Craig for creating the videos, maps, announcements etc
Willie and Craig for the management of e-mails and communication
Gary, Denise, Carina and others for preparation of the hot dogs
Michael and helpers for the team registration
Keith, Kim Yeong Bong and Lee Yeon Hee for organizing the tents, PA etc

A special thanks to:

Barnaby, Jeremy, Olivia, Selwyn, Megan, Mel, team captains and all the others not from Gumi for all the administration
Everyone else I might have left out but definitely appreciate.

It was a big team effort and without all the effort and support by everyone this tournament could not have been such a success. We support Suwon Stormers in their upcoming tournament and we are looking forward to the ITS Tournament.
We will see you up in Suwon and Seoul and hope to have everyone back here in Gumi and at Waegook Cook next year.

Be sure to check to the pics in the links below.

Great People make Great Times !!!

Thanks

Derrick & Sugi
Waegook Cook
(054) 444 - 3775

Links:
Web Site:
http://www.waegookcook.com/rugby.html

June 21st Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waegook/sets/72157605749356727/

Facebook:
Profile
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=557346874
Event
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=14630648194

Touch Rugby Blogs:
http://touchtagrugby.blogspot.com/
http://rugby.waegookcook.com/wordpress/

Sign up for Touch rugby in Suwon

Suwon Stormers plan to host a Touch rugby tournament on August 9th down their way...contact Patrick on paddykanu@gmail.com

Congratulations Te Wai Pounamu, winners of Waegook Cook Gumi tournament

With the Survivors away, TWP stole a march on their closest rivals as the Spire Korea Touch Championship went "on the road" last weekend. Eight teams took part in (as far as we know) the biggest Touch tournament held "down south". Shrugging off poor weather, the teams put on a display of scintillating touch, egged on by the exquisite cheerleaders (I am told!). Afterwards, it was back to hosts Waegook Cook bar and restaurant for the awards ceremony and a big party. This was the third tournament in the 2008 championship, the latest results will be posted soon.

This is a significant step forward for Touch in Korea and it is unlikely to be the only tournament outside the capital. Inspired by what they have seen, Suwon Stormers are keen to put on their own show in August...could be a good warm up prior to "the big one", ITS 2008 which will be held on Sept 20th at the Korea Military Academy, Taerung in NE Seoul.

Also bubbling under is the plan to take Touch to the masses. Of course, some schools already play as part of their rugby training. However, in July, a new experiment with extra-curricular Touch is being piloted. And there are more plans for that.

If you want to play, referee, adminstrate or coach, email seoultouch@gmail.com and if you want to get into International Touch Seoul, email internationaltouchseoul@gmail.com

Portal sites and blogs

This blog has been registered with Naver and Daum, which are the most popular portal sites in Korea. So if type "Touch Tag and/or Rugby (터치, 태그, 럭비 in Korean) " on the websites, you can search this blog, and now you can also find this blog on Google too!

If your native language is Korean, pls visit my Korean rugby blog!

http://blog.naver.com/rugby15

ITS 2008 Touch Rugby in Seoul!

Sign up now by emailing internationaltouchseoul@gmail.com or seoultouch@gmail.com