Name: Grandmaster Robert J. Howard
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Taekwon-Do History
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Grandmaster Howard (9th degree) is the highest ranking Taekwon-Do practitioner in Ireland. He was one of the first Irish men to achieve the rank of black belt in 1971, (the other two were Mr Liam Dandy and Mr Frank Mathews), and was one of the driving forces in the promotion of Taekwon-Do in Ireland. Through his instructor, First Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha, he has a direct lineage to the founder of Taekwon-Do, Gen Choi Hong Hi. Indeed many of today’s students of Taekwon-Do in Ireland can trace their roots back to Gen Choi Hong Hi, via GM Rhee and Senior Master Howard. He was the first Irish man to be promoted to Master (7th Degree).
Over his years of teaching Taekwon-Do, Senior Master Howard has trained thousands of students and produced hundreds of black belts (including Master and Senior Masters). He has trained many international competitors and World Champions. Many of his former students have become senior instructors in their own associations, e.g. INTA (Senior Master Brendan O’Toole, Master Val Douglas, Master Gerry Martin) and ITTIA (Senior Master Paul Kavanagh).
Since the early 70s he has been travelling the world training in Taekwon-Do and umpiring in European and World Championships. He is very well respected both in Ireland and internationally and has many Taekwon-Do friends around the world.
Senior Master Howard is the chief instructor and president of the Republic of Ireland Taekwon-Do Association. He still trains and teaches in Cabra, Dublin, as well as teaching Taekwon-Do black belts and colour belts throughout Ireland.
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Senior Master Howard’s Taekwon-Do History
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To review Senior Master Howard's Taekwon-Do History, please click here.
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Senior Master Howard's International Taekwon-Do Dan promotion details
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Degree
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Year
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ITF Cert no.
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Venue
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Examiner
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| 9th |
2011 |
IRE-9-1 |
Pyongyang, North Korea
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ITF Promotions Committee |
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8th
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2002
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IRE-8-1
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Dublin
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ITF Promotions Committee
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7th
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1995
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IRE-7-1
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Dublin
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First Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha
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6th
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1990
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IRE-6-1
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Dublin
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First Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha
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5th
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1984
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IRL-84-5-01
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Budapest (Hungary)
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First GM Rhee, Park Jung Tae, Kim Suk Jung
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4th
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1979
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B-4-2
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Dublin
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First Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha
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3rd
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1975
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IRL-3-2
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Glasgow (UK)
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First GM Rhee, C. K. Choi
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2nd
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1973
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B-2-1
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Dublin
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First GM Rhee, K.I. Kim
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1st
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1971
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N/A
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Oxford (UK)
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First Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha
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Note 1: N/A in the very early days of the ITF degree certificates weren’t issued.
Note 2: If you are an Irish ITF black belt your certificate number will start with IRE. But in 1973 Mr Rhee was the chief instructor to Britain, and as his student Mr Howard’s 2nd degree cert started with ‘B’ for Britain (B-2-1). You can also see that IRL was sometimes used to indicate Ireland. This has now been standardised to IRE.
IRE-8-1: The IRE means Ireland, the 8 means 8th degree, the 1 after the 8 means the first person in that country to be awarded this grade.
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International Taekwon-Do Federation qualifications
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- International Umpire: ‘A’ Class, cert no., 189, year 1978
- International Instructor (Examiner): cert no., 239, year 1979
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International Taekwon-Do Federation Awards Received
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- Outstanding Instructor Award: Presented at the World Championships, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, 1994
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International Taekwon-Do Federation Courses and Seminars
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Year
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Course Type
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Conducted by
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Venue
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8/4/2010
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Senior Masters’ Technical Seminar
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Senior Master Hwang Ho Yong
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Bejing
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January 2002
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Masters’ Seminar
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Gen Choi Hong Hi
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Viena
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25/10/99
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157th ITF International Instructor’s Course
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Gen Choi Hong Hi
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Dublin
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22/9/95
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108th ITF International Instructor’s Course
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Gen Choi Hong Hi
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Dublin
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9/10/92
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41st ITF International Instructor’s Course
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Gen Choi Hong Hi
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Dublin
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1987
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International Seminar
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Master Park Jung Tae
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Dublin
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1975
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International Seminar
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Master J. C. Kim
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Glasgow
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Experience at World, European and International Championships
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Year
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Tournament
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Participated as
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Country
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1973
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Ireland V Turkey
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Competitor (Silver medal)
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Dublin, Ireland
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1974
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Centennial Championships
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Competitor
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Winnapeg, Canada
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1976
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Ireland V England
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Competitor (Gold medal)
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Dublin, Ireland
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1978
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2nd World Championships
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Competitor (2 Silver medals)
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Oklahoma, USA
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1980
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2nd European Championships
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Umpire
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London, England
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1981
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3rd World Championships
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Umpire
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Resistencia, Chaco, Argentina
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1984
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4th World Championships
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Umpire
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Glasgow, Scotland
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1984
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4th European Championships
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Umpire
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Budapest, Hungary
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1987
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5th World Championships
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Umpire
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Athens, Greece
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1988
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6th World Championships
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Umpire
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Budapest, Hungary
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1990
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7th World Championships
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Umpire
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Montreal, Canada
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1993
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8th European Championships
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Umpire
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Groningen, The Netherlands
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1993
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3rd Junior European Championships
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Umpire
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Benidorm, Spain
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1994
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9th World Championships
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Umpire
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Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
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2001
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12th World Championships
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VIP
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Rimmini, Italy
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2003
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13th World Championships
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VIP
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Thessaloniki, Greece
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2004
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Senior & 3rd Junior European Championships
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VIP
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Sofia, Bulgaria
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2005
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19th Senior & 11th Junior European Championships
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VIP
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Dublin, Ireland
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2008
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22nd Senior & 14th Junior European Championships
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VIP
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Porec, Croatia
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2009
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16th World Championships
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VIP
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St Petersburg, Russia
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Participation at ITF and AETF/EITF Congresses
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Year
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Congress
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Participated as
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Country
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1980
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AETF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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London, England
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1984
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ITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Glasgow, Scotland
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1984
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AETF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Budapest, Hungary
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1987
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ITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Athens, Greece
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1988
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ITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Budapest, Hungary
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1990
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ITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Montreal, Canada
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1993
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AETF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Groningen, The Netherlands
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1993
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AETF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Benidorm, Spain
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1994
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ITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
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2001
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ITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Rimmini, Italy
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2002
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ITF, Emergency Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Vienna, Austria
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2002
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ITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Pyongyang, DPR Korea
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2003
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ITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Thessaloniki, Greece
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2004
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AETF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Sofia, Bulgaria
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2005
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AETF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Dublin, Ireland
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2008
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EITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Porec, Croatia
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2009
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ITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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St Petersburg, Russia
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2011
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EITF, Congress
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NGB Delegate
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Tallin, Estonia
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