Former Raton Resident to Compete At U.S. Open Taekwondo Championships

 

Special to KRTN

Azariah Dorrance, a former Raton resident,  has earned a chance to compete in the 2017 US Open Taekwondo Championships being held in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 27th to February 5th, the USAT National Championships in Detroit, Michigan (06/29-07/06) and a chance to compete in a G1-rated tournament in Ghana in August 2017.

 

 Azariah’s journey began in Raton.  He was born in 2002 to mother Jessica Dorrance. The family moved to Seattle, and he began his dream in 2010 with Velocity Taekwondo’s Competition team. Since the start of his training, he began to dream of competing in the Olympics. Competing in tournaments since 2011, he has since brought home numerous gold, silver and bronze medals – some of which include multiple national, state and local championships.

 

Azariah trains hard every single day, sometimes for five or more hours. The costs of competitive taekwondo can be immense. Since he began this, his mother has worked hard to afford him the ability to continue with his journey. She has recently helped to create a non-profit organization called “Team Velocity” which focuses on supporting young athletes with the same dreams. Over the last two years, the organization has been able to assist multiple athletes with tournament costs. The hope is to continue this year to do the same.

 

While the family has moved away, they still have many roots in Raton including Azariah’s maternal grandparents Robert & Tina Dorrance, great grandfather Joe Arguello,  Linda and Frank Mascarenas (aunt and uncle) and numerous maternal cousins.

 

For more information on ways to support Azariah on his journey, please contact:

Linda Mascarenas:  (575) 445-8603 or (575) 445-2321           
Email Jessica Dorrance:  DorranceJL@gmail.com

 

For more information regarding Team Velocity go to www.TeamVelocityTKD.org