WTF Referee-Coach Join Training Camp for London 2012 Olympic Games held in Suzhou, China
May 3, 2016 - In advance of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the World Taekwondo Federation will hold a Coach-Referee Joint training Camp on May 5–8 at the Taekwondowon training facility in Muju, Korea.
Participating in the event will be 30 international referees from 30 countries as well as 50 coaches from 40 countries.
At the camp, in-depth discussions will be held on competition methods, rules, scoring systems and anti-doping. Simulations of potential scenarios that could occur during the Olympics will be conducted. The event is designed as a tune-up for officials before Rio 2016, though a final referee training camp is scheduled for July in a location to be decided.
The camp is essential as the game has changed since the London Olympics in 2012.
“Olympic taekwondo today is more dynamic and fairer than ever before,” said WTF President Chungwon Choue. “At the Muju training camp, we want to ensure that all the innovations and reforms we have implemented over the last four years have been fully absorbed.”
In Rio, there will be electronic sensors in the head protector for maximum fairness and transparency; in London, the sensors were only in the torso protector. Colored dobok (uniform) pants in national colors will be allowed in Rio for a more spectacular visual experience; in London they were plain white. The shape of the competition mat has been changed to octagonal to encourage livelier footwork; in London, the field of play was square.
The gender ratio of referees will be completely equal with 15 males and 15 females.
Seeding for the 128 participating athletes from 63 nations in eight weight categories (four male, four female), will be allocated based on the 2016 July Olympic rankings to make the competition as fair as possible.
A WTF Extraordinary Council Meeting will be held at Taekwondowon on May 6. The WTF council members will also hold a joint meeting with the referees and coaches to discuss the future direction of Olympic taekwondo.
The WTF’s first pre-Olympic Coach-Referee Joint Training Camp was held in Suzhou, China, before the London Olympic in 2012. Muju will be the second.
An official dedication ceremony by the WTF and the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation, appointing Taekwondowon’s T1 Arena as the WTF’s Central Training Center, will be held on May 6.
The WTF Central Training Center will direct all WTF regional training centers already in operation worldwide in Azerbaijan, China, Iran, Uzbekistan, Germany and the UK. It is expected to be a location for the education of international referees and coaches, as well as Member National Association and Continental Union leaders.
There will also be a WTF-recognized companies’ presentation on new products, and an exhibition of these products will run during the joint training camp.
WTF Referee-Coach Join Training Camp for London 2012 Olympic Games held in Suzhou, China
WTF Referee-Coach Join Training Camp for London 2012 Olympic Games held in Suzhou, China
