FYI-WTF President's Message

[Miles]

President's Message

The year 2004 is nearing to an end. It is the time when we are driven
to reflect what have happened and what we have achieved during the
elapsing year and think of what we should do for the betterment of
our sport in the coming year.

On the occasion of this year-end period, let me express, first of
all, a sincere gratitude to all members of the Taekwondo Family
across the world for their dedicated efforts in their respective
fields to the development of our sport during the passing year.

It was an eventful year that has brought about significant changes in
our sport and organization. However, the highlight among those what
have happened in 2004 was the successful Taekwondo competitions on
the stage of the Athens Olympic Games.

However, it is also true that Taekwondo is being challenged in
international sports community and we are in need of improving our
sport to a great extent. We have to transform Taekwondo to better
meet the people’s demand and enhance its value as an Olympic sport.

That is the only way to make Taekwondo an eternal Olympic sport that
will never be challenged in the years to come. In connection with
this, the 11-member WTF Reform Committee has been formed and already
finished its initial meeting in Seoul in early December. The
Committee will provide a set of recommendations for our future course
of actions by early February.

A host of important events including the World Taekwondo
Championships to be held in Madrid, Spain, in coming April, are
scheduled to take place during the New Year. We have to stage them
successfully, showing the people in international sports community
that Taekwondo has been changed greatly for the better.

The coming 2005 would be the year when we are all asked to be firmly
united and pool our wisdom for further development of our sport. I
wish you all a Happy New Year and the very best of luck in your
respective positions.

Sincerely,


Chungwon Choue
President
World Taekwondo Federation


Submitted by Miles
Thoughts? Comments?

 

[Zepp]

A reform committee eh? I do wonder what direction these reforms may be in. Many of us have been saying for a while that the WTF needed to make changes. I'll be interested to see what comes of this.

 

[bignick]

I am taking this off my school's message board

Subject: tkd-net: Korea Herald, South Korea: Taekwondo reform gets kick-started

Taekwondo reform gets kick-started

The World Taekwondo Federation has set up a special committee to draw
up recommendations to make the sport more action-packed and transform
the WTF into a more global organization.

The 11-member WTF reform committee, led by WTF vice president and
International Olympic Committee member Dr. Nat Indrapana of Thailand,
will hold its first brainstorming sessions in Seoul Dec. 7-11 with
taekwondo officials and experts to help raise the interest level
ensure the sport continues as an Olympic event.

“Reform has been a catchword in almost every sector of society in
Korea, and taekwondo is no exception,” said WTF President Choue
Chungwon yesterday when the new committee was announced. The
committee is a diverse and respected group, with seven taekwondo
leaders from Asian, African, European and Pan-American regions, and
four renowned and experienced leaders from outside the taekwondo
community.

The reform measures will range across areas such as competition
format to refereeing, WTF administration and marketing.

The committee is scheduled to present its final report with a series
of recommendations to the WTF in January.

and this.....

Reform Committee to Draw Up Recommendations
for Future of Taekwondo and WTF

The World Taekwondo Federation today launched a Reform Committee that is charged with thoroughly reviewing Taekwondo and its world
governing body, and proposing recommendations to make Taekwondo more action-packed and transform the WTF into a more global and
professional organization.

The 11-member WTF Reform Committee, led by Dr. Nat Indrapana of
Thailand, a WTF vice president and International Olympic Committee
member, will draw up recommendations, after brainstorming sessions
with Taekwondo experts and officials, to help raise the interest
level of Taekwondo competition and ensure that it continues to be an
official Olympic sport. The Reform Committee will meet from Dec. 7 to
11 in Seoul for its first gathering.

"Reform has been a catchword in almost every sector of society in
Korea, and Taekwondo is no exception," said WTF President Chungwon
Choue, Ph.D.

"Taekwondo is in a transitional period following a change in the WTF
leadership," Choue said. "Under my direction, the WTF is pushing
for reform to transform itself into a more global, professional and
efficient international federation, in line with the IOC ¡s ongoing
reform efforts."

Members of the Reform Committee make up a diverse and respected
group, with seven Taekwondo leaders hailing from Asian, African,
European and Pan-American regions, and four renowned and experienced leaders from outside the Taekwondo community.

Among the Taekwondo leaders on the Reform Committee are Mr. Manuel
Colmenero Firvida of Spain, president of the Spanish Taekwondo
Federation and member of the WTF Executive Council; Mr. Sung Chon
Hong of the Philippines, a member of the WTF Executive Council; Mr.
Jizhong Wei of China, a member of the WTF Executive Council; Mr. Dai
Soon Lee of Korea, a member of the WTF Executive Council and
president of the Asian Taekwondo Union; Mr. Ahmed Fouly of Egypt, a
vice president of the WTF and president of the African Taekwondo
Union; and Mr. Dai Won Moon of Mexico, a member of the WTF Executive
Council.

The outside professionals are Dr. Giovanni Di Cola, a program
director with the International Labor Organization in Switzerland;
Mr. Andre Gorgemans, secretary general of the World Federation of the
Sporting Goods Industry; Mr. Pierre Ferrari, founding partner of Tula
Communications in Atlanta, Georgia; and Dr. Emanuel Bayle, a
professor in management science at the University of Lyon in France.

To achieve the goal of reforming Taekwondo across a wide spectrum of
areas, ranging from competition format to refereeing, WTF
Headquarters administration, financing, and marketing, Reform Committee members will be assisted by a team of about 30 Taekwondo experts.

Each of the experts will deliver a formal presentation to the Reform
Committee over two days of brainstorming sessions to be held on Dec.
9 and 10. The group is made up of WTF Committee members, WTF
Headquarters staff, outside Taekwondo professionals, and other
specialists. The Taekwondo experts group includes Mr. Luc Sougne of
Belgium, chairman of the WTF¡¯s Public Relations Committee, and Mr.
Young Tae Kim of Korea, chairman of the WTF¡¯s Technical Committee
and member of the WTF¡¯s Executive Council.

To gather additional opinions and recommendations for the future of
Taekwondo, the WTF Reform Committee sent a questionnaire to the
WTF¡¯s 177 member National Associations in early November. Those
answers, along with responses to a shorter questionnaire posted on
the WTF¡¯s Web site for other interested parties around the world,
including Taekwondo professors, coaches, and practitioners, will
serve as an additional tool in developing reform policies.

The Reform Committee is scheduled to present its final report with a
series of recommendations to the WTF in January. Their report is
viewed as playing a critical role in the future of Taekwondo, both as
an Olympic sport and as a vibrant and well-respected sport federation.



Members of WTF Reform Committee

Chairman
Dr. Nat Indrapana (Thai)
Vice President of the WTF
Member of the International Olympic Committee

Members (10)
1. Mr. Ahmed Fouly (Egyptian)
Vice President of the WTF
President of the African Taekwondo Union

2. Mr. Dai Soon Lee (Korean)
Member of the WTF Executive Council
President of the Asian Taekwondo Union

3. Mr. Manuel Colmenero Firvida (Spanish)
Member of the WTF Executive Council
President of the Spanish Taekwondo Federation,

4. Mr. Jizhong Wei (Chinese)
Member of the WTF Executive Council

5. Mr. Dai Won Moon (Mexican)
Member of the WTF Executive Council

6. Mr. Sung Chon Hong (Filipino)
Member of the WTF Executive Council

7. Dr. Giovanni Di Cola (Italian)
Focal Person on Sport and Development at the International Labor
Organization (ILO)
Universitas Program Coordinator in the International
Labor Office of the International Labor Organization

8. Mr. Andre Gorgemans (Swiss and Belgian)
Secretary General of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods
Industry (WFSGI) in Switzerland

9. Mr. Pierre Ferrari (British)
Founding Partner of Tula Communications, Atlanta, Georgia
President of the Hot Fudge Social Venture Capital Fund

10. Dr. Emmauel Bayle (French)
Professor in Management Science at the University of Lyon, France

and this...

Subject: tkd-net: Korea Times, South Korea:
By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter

The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) on Monday announced that its
reform committee will submit a set of recommendations in February on
the reform of the WTF organization.

Headed by WTF vice president and IOC member Nat Indrapana of
Thailand, the 11-member committee had its first meeting in Seoul last
week with the participation of 30 presenters from WTF member
countries.

``The recommendations were scheduled to be submitted in January, but
the committee postponed it to February,’’ a WTF official said on the
condition of anonymity. ``The meeting was wrapped up successfully,
and the members were very satisfied with the results.’’

Since last summer’s Athens Olympics, the WTF has been seeking ways to
make the Korean-originated martial art more interesting and
action-packed. WTF president Choue Chung-won has said he would
consider allowing the use of punches in a series of news conferences
since September. He has also insisted that the WTF should transform
itself into a more global and transparent organization.

``The Reform Committee is completely separated from the WTF’s head
office,’’ the official said. ``The people of the WTF are not even
allowed to attend the meetings. The committee will draw up
independent opinions in February.’’

The revision is expected to be made after the WTF’s general assembly
in April, where Choue aims to be reelected as president.

whew....and finally

Subject: tkd-net: ETU: New Competition System Tested

New Competition System Tested

New method of tournament fighting is been tested in Stuttgart/Germany
- - WTF observers will be present to watch.

The WTF is discussing various changes and modifications of the
existing tournament rules in order to bring more attractive fights to
the spectators and the media. On January 22nd 2005 there will be held
a test competition in Stuttgart / Germany which will be featuring a
new "5-Minutes-Competition" method.

The Taekwondo department of the University of Stuttgart hosting the
"Dragon Cup" under the following new rules to test a different way of
competition which could be adopted in one way or the other by WTF
also:

* Overall fighting time will be 5 minutes in one round.
* The coach can take a 'Time Out' of 30 seconds - but not during
actual fighting, only when the referee gives a 'Kyonggo'.
* The winner will be decided by three ways:

1. the one leading by 4 points even the time is not over yet or
2. if one competitor reaches 7 points even the time is not over
yet or
3. the one leading by points after the time is over

* If there is a tie, the the one who has made the first point
will win.
* If no point has been reached by both competitors, then the one
who has shown more etiquette or politeness will win.

The organizers expect a clear increase in dramatic and dynamic combat
scenes from this kind of competition method because it will finish
with the usual way of tactical fighting by reducing speed or
hindering the opponent's actions if one competitor is leading by
points.

Also the time of competitions will be shortened remarkably because
there is a chance to win a bout before the regular fighting time
ends. Thus the good fighters will be able to save their power in a
long tournament and the technical level is expected to rise.
Moreover, for spectators should be more clear who is winning and why.

It remains to be seen if this interesting aspect of tournament
fighting will be successful and how it will influence WTF's decisions
about future shape of Taekwondo competition. Interested competitors
or coaches can go to the homepage of Stuttgart University to get the
full information.

 

[Zepp]

WTF president Choue Chung-won has said he would
consider allowing the use of punches in a series of news conferences
since September.

Hurray!

Even if they don't start allowing punches, the new rules suggested sound like positive changes to me. Hopefully that'll put an end to all that running away crap we saw in the last Olympics.

 

[Miles]

Thanks guys for participating.

There was a questionnaire on the WTF website asking for input about how to make the game more exciting.

I am sure that the information gathered will be considered at the Reform Committee meeting.

I too look forward to what the Committee recommends as well as what is adopted. However, I thoroughly enjoyed what little TKD was broadcast from Athens.

Miles

 

[TX_BB]

Did you notice the glaring omission? Yes, no US representation, when one is trying clean up things genereally the US is called in. Second the US is largest single consumer of TKD why would you not find out what the US wants. Unfortunately, it looks like the Koreans are just trying to find a way to keep TKD on the Olympic platform (by placating the europeans). In this case I hope looks can be decieving but I won't bet on it.

US two athletes two medals sometimes you need to wonder how we would have done by sending more. Ways rules can be used against a sport.

 

[Miles]

TX BB, I understand what you are saying, but look at the current state of the USA Taekwondo/USTU. Given the circumstances within the USA, I don't see a problem with not having US representation on that particular committee (there are others with US representation, including the Technical Council).

Miles

 

[TX_BB]

The biggest problem the USTU had was US representation and adhereing to US standards of buisness and fair play. There are plenty of good US TKD people that would have represented us just fine.

 

[Miles]

TX BB,

Perhaps that should be another thread?

Miles