The World Taekwondo Federation and the International Committee of Sport for the Deaf (ICSD) today signed an MoU to promote taekwondo for deaf athletes, further demonstrating WTF's commitment to developing the sport of para-taekwondo throughout the world.
As part of the MoU the 2014 World Para-Taekwondo Championships will include competitions for deaf athletes and will be officially recognised by the ICSD. The WTF and ICSD will also work together to ensure that athletes of the ICSD Deaflympics and World Deaf Taekwondo / Martial Arts Championships enjoy the best possible conditions for athletic performance.
The news comes in the same week that the WTF was officially granted the status of 'IPC Recognized International Federation (IF)', a clear acknowledgement of the positive steps that the federation has taken over the past five years.
Speaking after the signing of the MoU, President of the World Taekwondo Federation, Chungwon Choue, said:
"We are delighted to have signed a MoU with the International Committee of Sport for the Deaf and we are looking forward to learning from their expertise in how to best serve deaf athletes. We have always strived to ensure that taekwondo is a sport which is as inclusive and universal as possible. By bringing people together from different nations and backgrounds, taekwondo has the power to teach respect of people's diversity and promote equality.
"We are proud of what we have achieved but we know that there is always more that can be done. It was an honor to be granted the status of IPC Recognized IF and we look forward to working closely with the IPC in the future as we promote the Paralympic values throughout our sport. Our ultimate objective is for para-taekwondo to one day be part of the Paralympic Games and we will work tirelessly to achieve that."
