LAUSANNE, Switzerland (May 12, 2016) – The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) today announced that Taekwondo Poomsae World Rankings will be introduced for the first time during next month’s Austrian Taekwondo Poomsae Open as the federation continues to evolve the sport and ensure the very highest standard of competition.
The Austrian Taekwondo Poomsae Open will take place in Vienna on 18 – 19 June and will be assigned a G-1 ranking under the new World Ranking system. Athletes will be allocated World Ranking points based on where they finish in the Open multiplied by the grading of the competition. The World Ranking points athletes earn at the Austrian Open will then dictate where they are seeded at subsequent competitions, including the 10th World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Lima, Peru on 29 September – 02 October 2016. The World Championships will be assigned a G-8 ranking and provide athletes with an opportunity to earn the highest number of ranking points of any competition. All WTF Poomsae World Ranking competitions will implement a single elimination competition system in accordance with the WTF Poomsae Competition Rules.
Ranking points across the WTF Poomsae Competitions will be allocated as follows:
| Rank | G-1 | G-2 | G-4 | G-8 |
| 1st placed contestant | 10 | 20 | 40 | 80 |
| 2nd placed contestant | 6 | 12 | 24 | 48 |
| 3rd placed contestant | 3.60 | 7.20 | 14.40 | 28.80 |
| 5th placed contestant | 2.16 | 4.32 | 8.64 | 17.28 |
| 9th placed contestant | 1.51 | 3.02 | 6.05 | 12.10 |
| 17th placed contestant | 1.06 | 2.12 | 4.23 | 8.47 |
| 33rd placed contestant | 0.74 | 1.48 | 2.96 | 5.93 |
| 65th placed contestant | 0.52 | 1.04 | 2.07 | 4.15 |
The WTF has worked hard to develop poomsae taekwondo in recent years and the introduction of the World Rankings reflects the global growth of the sport with more athletes, from more countries participating than ever before.
WTF President Chungwon Choue said:
“World Rankings are integral to developing the quality of competitions as they ensure that the very best athletes compete against one and other. They bring a new dynamic and an added sense of drama to the competitions as every World Ranking point an athlete earns could be vital in the future. We are delighted that we have grown poomsae taekwondo around the world to an elite level where we can now introduce World Rankings.”
