Mackenzie Macdonald is a 13-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 6-time National Champion and 2022 Team Australia representative at the World Championships. She also holds the number one, Australian international rank in two divisions and second in another.

Mackenzie is now ready to step onto the world stage again and has earned her position to compete as a Team Australia representative at the upcoming World Taekwondo Cadet Championships, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 28-31 August 2023!

To achieve this, Mackenzie recently competed at the Australian World Cadet Selection event in Brisbane on 7 July 2023, followed by two internationally recognised events on 8 & 9 July – namely the Oceania President’s Cup and the Australian Open – both of which are G2 internationally ranked competitions.

The aim was to earn selection for the World Championships and be one of the very few Australian Cadet athletes to compete in back-to-back seasons at the World Championships! Mackenzie won both of her matches to earn selection for Team Australia and the President’s Cup and Australian Open – the triple GOLD!

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 invited to train at the Victorian State Development Program athletes.

We reach out to the community, businesses, friends and family to achieve our fundraising target for the 2023 World Cadet Taekwondo Championships to be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 28-31 August. Mackenzie will also be seizing the opportunity to compete at the Bosnia and Herzegovina Taekwondo Open event on 2-3 September, an internationally ranked G1 event, while we are there.

The importance of the World Taekwondo Cadet Championships 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 yet available to support the team representatives on this tour and we have been encouraged to reach out to the community to support her participation.

Athlete pathways for Australian Taekwondo are improving, however, expenses for cadet-athletes 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 World Championships in Bosnia-Herzegovina, will cost $12,000. Of this, $7000 will be athlete expenses and approximately $5000 for a guardian.

We recognise the incredible support provided to Mackenzie for her 2022 World Championship, made even more impactful when our school, and place of employment went into administration. We cannot thank those who provided support, enough.

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.

We appreciate your support, large or small x

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