Mexico’s Teodoro Guerrero Bonilla captured the top honors at the 1st WTF Photo Contest. Another Mexican Jesus Zurita Salazar was selected as the second-prize winner.

A 10-member WTF review board, including five outside experts, met at the WTF headquarters on April 14 to thoroughly examine a final 40 out of a total of 121 photos submitted by 49 persons around the world between March 3 and 31.

The theme of the 1st WTF Photo Contest was “The Spirit of Taekwondo” and the WTF received via online (www.wtf.org/photo) photos related to the World Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for the 1st Youth Olympic Games and the 8th WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships, both held in Tijuana, Mexico from March 3-9.

Based on five categories for review by judges, the first-prize winner, Mr. Bonilla, received the highest score of an average of 89.4 out of a maximum 100, compared with 77.6 for the second-prize winner, Mr. Salazar.

The two winners will receive the WTF President’s diploma and prize. The first-prize winner will be invited to the 2010 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships to be held in Urumqi, China on July 17-20, 2010. During the China Championships, the WTF plans to hold a photo exhibition, in which best photos from the 1st and planned 2nd Photo Contest will be on display.

“Despite of such a short period of preparations for the 1st WTF Photo Contest, the event can be evaluated as a success and I expect the following WTF Photo Contests will greatly help enhance the image of taekwondo and the WTF around the world,” said WTF President Chungwon Choue.

The WTF plans to hold the 2nd WTF Photo Contest on the occasion of the 2nd WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships scheduled for May 11, 2010 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The topic of the 2nd Photo Contest will be “Taekwondo and the Disabled.” The deadline of the submission of photos will be May 31. [By WTF/NBC-1TV H. J Yook]