Apart from school, Maddison Black, Jade Gibson and Francis Lloyd spend nearly all their waking hours training taekwon-do – they just can't get it enough of it.

Ask them why and the girls' – all junior 1st Dan black belts – passion for the sport unleashes, with them gushing about all the opportunities, friendships and life skills it offers.

Francis Lloyd, 14, and 15-year-olds Maddison Black and Jade Gibson are the only Bay of Plenty representatives in a 50-strong Kiwi team heading to Italy in May for 2015's World Taekwon-Do ITF Championships. Photo by Tracy Hardy

The trio from Silla Taekwon-Do Club in Te Puna are the only Bay of Plenty representatives in a 50-strong Kiwi team heading to Italy in May for 2015's World Taekwon-Do ITF Championships.

More than 60 countries will be attend the biannual event from May 27-31 – and the Te Puna trio will be in the thick of it after trialling last November.

Tauranga Girls' College student Frances Lloyd, 14, will compete in individual specialty, individual power breaking, sparring – and teams events for all three techniques.

Power breaking involves breaking boards, sparring is fighting, patterns are a choreographed sequence of fundamental movements, while specialty incorporates flying and turning kicks.

Otumoetai College's Jade Gibson, 15, will vie for glory in individual sparing and team patterns, while Aquinas College's Maddison Black, 15, is attending her second world championship.

This year competing in individual specialty and individual sparring, team pattern, team specialty, team sparring and team power, Maddison is 'going back for gold”.

'Last time [in 2013 in Spain] I got silver in team specialty; and I want to medal in the others because I placed fourth last time, which was awful.”

Newbies Jade is 'excited” and Francis is a bit bewildered. 'I think it will be great experience and I will try my hardest,” says Jade.

'But as long as I come home knowing I've done the best I can, I'll be really happy.”

Frances doesn't know how she feels. 'It's so much – just the opportunities that are open.

'I'm just looking forward to learning as much as I can and watching as many people as I can and soaking up all that information I can use in future.”

With 12 weeks to go, the trio train individually and at clubs endlessly, take fitness classes, and travel to Auckland every Saturday and one weekend per month, honing their skills with the Kiwi team.

'We have no time for anything else,” says Maddison. 'I did dancing for nine years and gave it up for taekwon-do.”

Frances delayed playing sevens, not wanting to get injured before April. 'So it's everything taekwon-do.”

But even with injuries there's no time to stop. 'It's honestly our whole lives,” says Jade.

So what's the pull to taekwon-do? For Maddison, she's following in her brothers' footsteps 'even though it's a bit cliché – and you meet a lot of people from around the world”.

From a young age Jade was fascinated with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. 'My instructor Gwyn Brown has been what's really made me get there. He's like my second dad and everyone in Taekwon-do club my extended family. I'm very grateful for their continuing.”

Frances just loves getting in the ring and sparring someone. 'Everyone is supporting you and it's so intense, and you just get this kick out of that you can never get anywhere else.”

'And it doesn't matter if you win or lose, there's something in that match that meant something to you and the people around the ring.”

But simultaneously the girls and their families fundraising $7000 each to get to Italy.

'That's the frustrating, stressful bit,” they say. 'Because we use all our time training to do well over there, then have to find time to fundraise.”

The girls sell scratchy cards, raffles, and hold car washes every Sunday by Ted's garage from 10am-1pm for $5.

This Sunday, March 1 the girls have a movie night fundraiser, with ‘Unbroken' and ‘Fifty shades of Grey' at Rialto, with nibbles at 4.30pm and the movie starting 5.30pm. Tickets are $20 from Donna Brunsden on 027 440 2240 or go to givealittle.co.nz/cause/jadegibsontkd or givealittle.co.nz/cause/supportmaddison2015