Mackenzie Macdonald is a 15-year-old Taekwondo athlete from rural Victoria, an hour north of Melbourne.

Mackenzie has earned her 3^rd Dan Black Belt. With incredible support from her coach and teammates at Hall's Taekwondo, she is a seven-time National Champion and two-time Team Australia representative at the World Championships. She also holds the number one, Australian international rank in multiple divisions and has recently been appointed a Tier 1 High Performance Athlete with Australian Taekwondo.

Mackenzie is a determined young athlete. A lot goes on behind the scenes to balance training, rest, nutrition, and school. Mackenzie trains 5-6 times per week, follows a nutrition plan, and utilises myotherapy services to manage her recovery. Our family drives over 600 km every week to access high-quality training at Hall’s Taekwondo most evenings, moving between her Club’s training centres at Tullamarine, Preston, and Brunswick. Mackenzie has also recently been appointed to the Performance Pathway Program with Australian Taekwondo, which requires an additional three trips to Melbourne each week.

We reach out to the community, businesses, friends and family to achieve our fundraising target over the coming year - as we prepare for the 2026 competition cycle which also includes a world championship and Youth Olympics. 2025 will be jammed packed with the Spanish Open and training camp, the Korean Open as well as the President's Cup, Australian Open, Oceania Championships and Nationals.

The importance of the World Taekwondo Championship and Youth Olympic representation, such as Mackenzie's cannot be understated. At the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, 17 out of the 32 medallists had medalled either at the World Taekwondo cadet or junior championships or at the Youth Olympic Games. These statistics demonstrate that the cadet-athletes who will be competing in Bosnia have the potential to be nurtured into World or Olympic champions.

Australian Taekwondo has advised that funding is not available to support all athletes on the High Performance Program. Athletes not yet appointed to the Fighting Futures Squad (aimed at 17 years+ of age) are encouraged to reach out to the community to support ongoing development and participation.

Athlete pathways for Australian Taekwondo are improving, however, expenses for younger athletes in preparation for LA28 and Brisbane32 are not yet supported by the national association, families bear all costs including entry fees, compulsory uniforms, airfares, and accommodation.

It is estimated that the cost of the 2025 campaign will amount to no less than $20, 000.

We recognise the incredible support provided to Mackenzie for her 2022 and 2023 World Championship campaigns via the ASF platform.

We humbly request support to see Mackenzie continue her international Taekwondo career. All donations are tax-deductible through the Australian Sports Foundation platform. If you have donated before and can't do so again, we would be delighted if you could simply share our page and encourage others.

We acknowledge that this sport is a choice, and we could opt-out at any time, however it is our deep belief that Mackenzie has real potential for longevity in this sport. Her ambitions are not only as a competitor but to also have an impactful role in high-performance sports as a career. Mackenzie maintains high academic achievement alongside her sport, our aim is to help provide an environment to see her, and our son Jackson – flourish.

Mackenzie is now aligned with the Aussie Athlete Fund, an organisation developed to support aspiring Green and Gold Athletes, their development and fundraising goals www.aussieathletefund.com

We appreciate your support, large or small x

You can follow Mackenzie's journey on her socials @mackenziemacdonaldtkd