Drawing More Than Students at Chaminade Athletic Center

A full parking lot around the Activities and Athletic Center is becoming a more and more common sight in Mineola.

Since the $25 million building’s construction in 2007 on the grounds of an old Ford dealership at 311 Jericho Turnpike, the center has grown from hosting almost exclusively school-related activities and events like basketball games, wrestling matches and student-body masses to a sports facility capable of drawing numerous outside events and marketable to a number of organizations and interests.

Sever activities have included guest speakers and musical performances as well as sports tournaments such as the Taekwondo Championship/Korean Cultural Festival which was held this past Saturday and drew over 2,000 spectators and 350 competitors from around the tri-state area.

“We thought this venue with its new state of the art facility was the perfect fit,” Organizing Committee Chairman and Master Instructor Edward Paik said, adding that the tournament “makes a good connection between the Village of Mineola and the Korean culture.”

Featuring competitors from around the tri-state area, the tournament consisted of competitive sparring for a variety of ages, board breaking and team demo competitions. The highlight of the event was the Goodwill Exhibition Games between the National teams from New York City and Los Angeles.

Korean-style food was offered up to spectators while cultural performances were conducted throughout the day.

This is the tournament’s second year at the facility, something martial arts Master Jeon of the Mineola-based U.S Taekwondo School hopes to continue.

“A lot of the people enjoyed it,” he said. “I had 50 of my kids here from Mineola and everybody went home with a gold, silver and bronze medal. We are actually meeting with one of the tournament heads later this week to try and get this event held here every October.”