09/22/2026
🥋🇺🇸 OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT — MY VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF AAU TAEKWONDO 🇺🇸🥋
It is with great honor, gratitude, and humility that I officially accept my nomination for AAU National Taekwondo Chair.
I am stepping forward because I believe deeply in AAU Taekwondo, our people, and our future. I also believe we have an opportunity to make our organization stronger, fairer, more transparent, more inclusive, more affordable, and more united.
My experiences as an athlete, coach, referee, parent, school owner, tournament director, volunteer, and District Chair have shaped one fundamental belief:
🇺🇸 AAU TAEKWONDO SHOULD BELONG TO ALL OF US.
National leadership carries a national responsibility.
No single school, outside organization, group of individuals, or geographic region should have disproportionate influence over the direction of a national program.
🥋 Every district matters.
🗺️ Every region matters.
🏆 Every athlete matters.
📣 Every coach matters.
⚖️ Every referee matters.
🏫 Every school matters.
🤝 Every volunteer matters.
Different regions. Different schools. Different backgrounds. Different ideas. ONE AAU TAEKWONDO.
🙏 SERVANT LEADERSHIP
If entrusted with this responsibility, I intend to be a servant leader—not a leader who expects to be served.
The National Chair should serve our districts, athletes, coaches, referees, schools, volunteers, and families.
A title does not make someone a leader. Service, character, integrity, accessibility, accountability, and the willingness to listen do.
I don't want people asking:
“What can we do for the National Chair?”
I want the National Chair asking:
👉 “WHAT CAN I DO FOR AAU TAEKWONDO?”
⚖️ FAIR PLAY & OBJECTIVITY
We expect fairness and impartiality from our referees on the competition floor. We should expect the same from our national leadership.
Decisions should be based on what is best for AAU Taekwondo as a whole—not friendships, personal relationships, regional alliances, organizational affiliations, or individual agendas.
Fair play cannot simply be something we talk about. It must be something we practice.
🇺🇸 NEUTRAL & BALANCED GOVERNANCE
I believe national leadership should operate as a neutral governing body representing ALL of AAU Taekwondo.
National means NATIONAL.
We need:
✅ Fair and consistent application of rules
✅ Transparency and accountability
✅ Objective decision-making
✅ Geographic and organizational balance
✅ Open communication
✅ Appropriate safeguards for conflicts of interest
✅ Equal opportunities for qualified people to serve
✅ Decisions focused on our athletes and membership
When important decisions are made, our members should understand the process behind them.
🤝 MORE VOICES AT THE TABLE
I don't want every major decision to come down to what one person thinks—including me.
Good leaders surround themselves with knowledgeable people and aren't afraid to hear different opinions.
I want a more inclusive and collaborative decision-making process that brings together qualified people from different districts, regions, disciplines, and backgrounds.
Before major decisions are made, we should ask:
❓ How does this benefit our athletes?
❓ How does it affect our districts and schools?
❓ What will it cost our families?
❓ What burden does it place on coaches and referees?
❓ Will it help us grow?
❓ Is there a simpler or more affordable solution?
❓ Have we listened to the people who will actually be affected?
📋 STREAMLINE THE PROCESS
We should examine our processes from top to bottom.
Where can we eliminate unnecessary steps?
Where can we simplify certifications, education, administration, and participation?
Where can technology save time and money?
Where can we improve communication?
Growth should not require unnecessary bureaucracy.
Our processes should serve our members—not frustrate them.
💵 GROW WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK
This is extremely important to me.
We cannot talk about growing AAU Taekwondo while making participation financially unrealistic for the people we need most.
Parents already pay for equipment, memberships, coaching, tournament fees, travel, hotels, transportation, meals, and training.
Our coaches and referees also invest tremendous amounts of their own time, money, and energy.
Not everything can be free—but leadership must understand the financial burden placed on our membership.
Before adding another expense or requirement, we should ask:
💰 Is it necessary?
💰 What value does it provide?
💰 Can we accomplish it more efficiently?
💰 Will it encourage participation—or discourage it?
👉 WE SHOULD BE REMOVING UNNECESSARY BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION, NOT CREATING NEW ONES.
🌱 GROW FROM THE GRASSROOTS UP
National growth doesn't begin at Nationals.
It begins in our schools and districts.
🏫 Strong schools create strong districts.
🗺️ Strong districts create strong regions.
🇺🇸 Strong regions create a strong national program.
We should invest in developing athletes, coaches, referees, tournament directors, volunteers, district leadership, and our next generation of leaders.
Opportunities should not continuously circulate among the same small group of people.
If someone is qualified, willing to work, committed to our standards, and wants to contribute, there should be a pathway for them to participate, develop, and advance.
🤝 UNITY WITHOUT FAVORITISM
Unity doesn't mean everyone must agree.
We can disagree. We can challenge ideas. We can ask difficult questions. We can respectfully question leadership.
That should not make us enemies.
We don't need uniformity to have unity.
🥋 THIS CAMPAIGN IS NOT ABOUT TEARING ANYONE DOWN
I want to be very clear:
I have nothing against the other candidates seeking this position.
I respect anyone willing to step forward and serve.
We can compare qualifications, ideas, policies, and leadership philosophies while remaining professional and respectful.
When this election is finished—regardless of who wins—I hope we can shake hands, move forward like mature professionals, and work in unison for the future of AAU Taekwondo.
Because the election will end.
Our responsibility to our athletes, coaches, referees, districts, schools, volunteers, and families will not.
🇺🇸 MY COMMITMENT
If given the privilege to serve, my platform will focus on:
🙏 Servant Leadership
⚖️ Fair Play & Objectivity
🔎 Transparency & Accountability
🇺🇸 Neutral & Balanced Governance
🤝 Inclusive Decision-Making
📋 Streamlined Processes
💵 Affordable Participation
🌱 Grassroots Growth
🥋 Coach Development
⚖️ Referee Development
🏆 Athlete Opportunities
🗺️ Stronger Districts & Regions
🚪 More Opportunities to Serve
📈 Responsible & Sustainable Growth
🗣️ AND I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU.
What is working?
What isn't?
What should we preserve?
What needs to change?
What barriers are preventing your district from growing?
What can national leadership do better?
I welcome your ideas, questions, constructive criticism, and respectful disagreement.
I don't believe leadership means having all the answers.
👉 Leadership means bringing the right people together to find better answers.
I am not seeking this position to lead one faction, one organization, one region, or one group.
I AM SEEKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE ALL OF AAU TAEKWONDO. 🇺🇸🥋
Our greatest resource isn't a building, tournament, title, or position.
❤️ OUR GREATEST RESOURCE IS OUR PEOPLE.
Let's bring those people together.
🤝 Let's listen to one another.
⚖️ Let's protect fair play and objectivity.
🔎 Let's strengthen transparency.
💵 Let's keep participation affordable.
📋 Let's simplify our processes.
🌱 Let's strengthen our grassroots.
🥋 Let's develop our coaches and referees.
🏆 Let's create opportunities for our athletes.
🗺️ Let's strengthen every district and region.
🚪 Let's open doors for the next generation of leaders.
And let's build an organization where service, fairness, objectivity, transparency, accountability, and opportunity aren't just words—they're how we operate.
🇺🇸🥋 ONE ORGANIZATION.
🗺️ EVERY DISTRICT.
🇺🇸 EVERY REGION.
🗣️ EVERY VOICE.
🤝 ONE FUTURE.
🇺🇸🥋 LET'S MAKE AAU TAEKWONDO GREAT AGAIN! 🥋🇺🇸
It would be my honor to serve.
Master Erik Farfán
Candidate for AAU National Taekwondo Chair
AAU Southwestern District Director
Direct Line: 817-298-6594
Email : [email protected]
