WINNING THE WORLD OVER The World Taekwondo Federation at a glance
Global Sport MEMBER COUNTRIES AROUND the world 41 * Asian Taekwondo Union 49 * European Taekwondo Union World Taekwondo Federation International governing body recognized by the IOC for the sport of taekwondo Established on May 28, 1973 President: Dr. Chungwon Choue Secretary General: Mr. Jin Suk Yang 188 member countries (as of July 31, 2008) 70 million estimated practitioners worldwide 13 * 43 Oceania Taekwondo Union 42 * Pan American Taekwondo Union * African Taekwondo Union * countries
Taekwondo in the Olympic Games Taekwondo on the Olympic stage Taekwondo was a demonstration sport in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games taekwondo has been an official Olympic sport. CountrY and Athlete participation KEEPS INCREASING 124 128 Worldwide achievements COUNTRY GOLD SILVER BRONZE Korea 3 1 Australia 1 1 Cuba 1 1 China 1 Greece 1 Weight Categories EUR 7 ASI 10 U.S.A. 1 Chinese Taipei 2-49 kg - 58 kg - 57 kg - 68 kg - 67 kg - 80 kg + 67 kg + 80 kg Beginning with the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games each weight category will be awarded a second bronze medal, increasing the total number of medals from 24 to 32. Countries athletes 103 51 60 64 PAN 5 PAN 6 EUR 5 AFR 1 ASI 12 OCE 2 World Medal Distribution in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Germany 1 Norway 1 Russia 1 Spain 1 Vietnam 1 Canada 1 France 1 Iran 1 Japan 1 Mexico 1 Turkey 1 Medal Tally by Country (2000 Sydney Olympic Games) Korea 2 2 Chinese Taipei 2 1 China 2 U.S.A. 1 1 Iran 1 1 Greece 2 Mexico 1 1 France 1 1 Cuba 1 Turkey 1 Egypt 1 Thailand 1 Venezuela 1 2000 sydney 2004 athens 2008 beijing World Medal Distribution in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Medal Tally by Country (2004 Athens Olympic Games)
A Universal Sport Growing Fast New International EVENTS ARE INTRODUCED World Taekwondo Championships (since 1973) World University Taekwondo Championships (FISU) (since 1986) World Cup Team Taekwondo (since 1986) World Junior Taekwondo Championships (since 1996) World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships (since 2006) 125 100 75 50 25 0 Number of Countries at WORLD Championships Sport for Life Taekwondo is a lifetime pursuit to acquire beautiful and dynamic techniques and is loved by men and women of all ages. Many practitioners enjoy its nonsparring discipline, poomsae, which is a series of kicking, punching and blocking movements against an imaginary opponent. In addition to its annual World Championships more events are made available for poomsae. It will be included in the official programme of the 2009 Belgrade Universiade and the 2013 International Masters Games. INTEREST AND PARTICIPATION ARE CONTINUOUSLY RISING Since the first World Taekwondo Championships in 1973, the number of participating countries and athletes has grown six and ten times respectively. 1000 800 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 Number of Athletes at WORLD Championships Total MEN WOMEN 2001 2005 Sport for All Taekwondo is enjoyable for disabled athletes and opportunities for international competitions are created. International Paralympic Taekwondo Championships will be held in 2009 and 2010 and the WTF is accelerating its efforts to join the Paralympic Games. 600 400 200 0 Taekwondo enjoys exciting participation among teens and the WTF has held a World Junior Championships since 1996. The youth momentum continues to build with the inclusion of taekwondo in the official programme of the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010. 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005
Moving Taekwondo Forward DedicatED to improving THE standard of refereeing Excellence in judging is one of the top priorities of the WTF. Regular educational programmes are organised for international referees including seminars, training camps and refresher courses. The referees officiating at the 2008 Olympic Games were selected through an objective and transparent process that included a training camp and the Olympic qualification tournaments. Video Refereeing Support System Fair judging is promoted by minimizing human error with support from video replay. Reliable scoring with Electronic Body Protectors As part of its all-out commitment to fair judging the WTF has been working on the introduction of an electronic system placed in the body protector that measures the power of attack and automatically scores. It improves accuracy in judging and makes the game more transparent and interesting for the public. Tests at international competitions are in progress and the WTF anticipates official use of the technology in upcoming major international competitions and Olympic Games.. Strong Anti-Doping Stance In a strong commitment to keeping drugs out of taekwondo competition, the WTF has been taking a series of key actions. In early May 2008, the WTF adopted WADA s 2009 Anti-Doping Code and introduced ADAMS, a Web-based database management tool that will help keep anti-doping operations in full compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code. The WTF has also been conducting out-of-competition tests on national teams since June 2008. The sensor measures power of attack and automatically scores and displays on the board
Sport for Hope and Inspiration A STRONG PRESENCE IN UNDERPRIVILEGED REGIONS From the early 1960s taekwondo masters went to every corner of the world to introduce taekwondo to local people and inspire them with its philosophy and spirit. Their dedication contributed to the globalisation of taekwondo and its expansion to underprivileged regions of the world. Today, we see taekwondo athletes from small and little known countries securing places and winning medals in the Olympic Games. It is a phenomenal achievement. BENEFITTING FROM OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY The inclusion of taekwondo in the Olympic programme contributes greatly to developing the sport, athletes and coaches in underprivileged regions of the world. An average of 12 countries each year participate in technical courses for coaches sponsored by the IOC Olympic Solidarity. Projects developing national sport structures are supported in Yemen, Mali, Laos and Madagascar. A total of 58 athletes received a scholarship related to the 2008 Olympics Games and 18 of them earned a spot in the Beijing Olympic Games. COMMITMENT OF THE WTF TO SUPPORT ALL In response to the desperate need for sport programmes to address social problems and facilitate development, the WTF has employed multi-pronged efforts for years. It runs a global donation programme of equipment and uniforms as well as an invitation- Number of athletes receiving scholarships (2008) ( ) = Number of countries PAN (6) 10 Countries PARTICIPANTS 35 22 EUR (5) 6 AFR (11) 21 ATHLETE PARTICIPTION IN THE WTF 34 24 ASI (13) 21 TAEKWONDO HOPEFULS TRAINING PROGRAM 2005 2006 2007 44 29 training programme for young hopefuls in cooperation with key stakeholders such as Korean governmental organisations, universities and member countries. More recently, it has launched the Taekwondo Peace Corps, a program to send abroad a group of highly qualified volunteers to teach taekwondo and provide service for local communities of regions in need. The first teams left for mission in July 2008. EXPANDING TRAINING FACILITIES Around THE WORLD The WTF has developed a master plan to build regional training centers worldwide. Each project of the plan will be carried out in cooperation with member countries. Currently three centers are under development in China, South Africa and Germany. A FANTASTIC VENUE FOR YOUTH education Taekwondo is not merely a sport but encompasses exceptional cultural values and spirits that cannot be learned from textbooks. Taekwondo training teaches youth about justice, morality, cooperation, love for one another and respect for the universal values of fair play. Through such learning, along with its mental and physical discipline, taekwondo helps young people to stay away from delinquency, drugs, alcohol and violence.
Competition Rules Competition Area COACH Judge Judge COmMISSION DOCTOR Match Duration REFEREE 1 Match: 3 rounds (2 min. each) + additional round in case of a tie score after 3 rounds (sudden death) RECORDER Judge Judge COACH Permitted Techniques and Areas for Scoring Area permitted for attack by foot only (2 points) Area permitted for attack both by foot and fist (1 point) Scoring 1p 2p 1p Additional point earned when opponent is knocked down and referee counts Decisions + - in case of attack in case of penalty on trunk protector (by both foot and fist attack) on face (by foot attack only) 1p Gam-jeom (deduction penalty) 2 Kyong-gos (warning penalty) Win by KO (Knock Out) RSC (Referee Stops Contest) Score or Superiority Final score Point gap (7 points) Point ceiling (12 points) Withdrawal Disqualification Referee s Punitive Declaration
Reaching New Audiences Greater Visibility on TV The WTF is determined to improve its worldwide presence on television by expanding the production of highlights of all major events for distribution to the major networks. News packages on medal winners will also be produced for distribution to their home country s networks. Capitalizing on new media TO reach all fans - worldwide The WTF is developing its own Web TV channel to reach its global audience. The channel is available under www.wtf-taekwondo.tv. Free access to all games is provided and the experience of the viewer is optimized through the use of the latest Web technologies. The same Web TV channel is also used to provide video of matches to coaches, referees and athletes to improve their performance. 188 countries are represented at the World Taekwondo Federation 70 million people 2000 saw Taekwondo become an official Olympic sport at the Sydney Games 58 athletes 1973 practice taekwondo worldwide received scholarships related to the 2008 Olympic Games was the year of the first World Taekwondo Championships Since then, its participation has grown 10 times
World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Headquarters 4F Joyang B/D, 113 Samseong-dong Gangnam-gu, Seoul Korea www.wtf.org Tel: +82 2 566 25 05 Fax: + 82 2 553 47 28 Email: wtf@wtf.org Lausanne office Maison du Sport International Avenue de Rhodanie 54 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland Tel: + 41 21 601 50 13 Fax: + 41 21 601 79 23 Email: lausanne@wtf.org