The Taekwondo New Zealand Open will be held in May ©TNZ

The Taekwondo New Zealand (TNZ) Open will be held in May as an officially sanctioned World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) event, it has been confirmed.

The news was announced by TNZ President Tae Kyung Kim in his February update to members.

A first for the country, the international event will be a G2 world ranking tournament.

At the same time, five Oceania Championships will also take place.

These are the Oceania Para Taekwondo Championships, the Oceania Poomsae Championships, the Oceania Junior Championships, the Oceania Cadet Championships and the Oceania Colour Belt Championships.

Andrea Kilday competed for New Zealand at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images
Andrea Kilday competed for New Zealand at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images

Action is due to take place at the North Shore Events Centre in Auckland on May 13 and 14.

An Oceania Coaching Accreditation and Refresher Course will also be held prior to the event.

All TNZ members are encouraged to attend the competition. 

New Zealand sent one competitor to the Olympic taekwondo tournament at Rio 2016 in August.

Andrea Kilday competed in the women's under-49 kilograms category but lost to home Brazilian athlete Iris Sing in the first round. 

Kilday qualified for the Olympics by winning gold at the Oceania Taekwondo Championships.