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2009 WSU Club Awards - Service to the Club


Congratulations to Marleen for winning the 2009 WSU Club Awards

Service to the Club - Club tutor/coach

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Detailed information sheet

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Marleen Charng is one of the co-founders of Waikato Kendo Club. She has dedicated her passionate, time and energy to the Club’s development in every aspect since 1999.

* As the President of the Club, she successfully connects the Club with the national body, New Zealand Kendo Federation (NZKF).

- The Club hosts the 2009 NZ National Seminar on 17-19 July. The event has been very successful. All the participants feel fulfilled from the weekend’s learning and training. It was also reported by the Waikato Times on 20 July as a big event in Hamilton.

- The Club also hosted the National Seminar in 2003 and 2007, NZ Team Squad Training in 2007, and the 2nd NZ Kendo Open Championship in 2002.

- More excitingly, the Club will again host the 10th NZ Open Kendo Championship next year!

- All these events have provided the University’s students a wonderful learning experience and an unforgettable campus life.

* As a former high school teacher, Marleen combined her educational background to help the Club’s development and its members’ learning.

- Marleen celebrates the value of “helping each other to learn” rather than just the conventional rigid structure of instruction, so that the Club has formed a family like climate. This is especially important to international students and some young people who are away from home to study in Hamilton.

- From this supportive environment she creates, participating the Club’s training and activities actually has enriched the University students’ learning experience in many ways. For example, under proper guidance, students will take up different roles in instruction, budget planning, autonomy and leadership and develop strong soft-skills such as communicational skills in additional to their academic life in the University.

* Not only a senior Kendo practitioner with 27 years experience, she also studied the Post-Graduate Diploma in Sport and Leisure Studies at Waikato University few years ago. Based on these knowledge and experience, she has developed many “beginner-friendly” and effective training methods that has help many members, especially,

- There are 8 people achieved the 1st Dan (black belt) this year among the 30 new beginners just picked up Kendo recent two years.

- There have been four NZ Team members coming from Waikato Kendo Club.

* In addition to her professional coaching, Marleen also contributes a lot in the general business, for example,

- All the club events are well organized and published in our annual calendar. This helps University students to manage their busy life in study and also teach the students about time management, self-discipline and team work.

- She also use her network helps students access the high quality but affordable kendo equipment, which is normally very difficult for other Kendo club members. This is a very common obstacle that stops people starting Kendo.

The points outlined above are just a very small part of Marleen’s extraordinary contribution to the Waikato Kendo Club and it’s students and members .......



For more information, please visit WSU website: http://www.wsu.org.nz/

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