WTF - ITF Unification Steps Further
By WTF, ETU
Thursday, June 30, 2005
WTF Taekwondo has got a big momentum since the election of Dr. Chungwon Choue. This is documented by some major changes in tournament rules as well as the development of new equipment (electronic protectors) as well as ongoing contacts to the other big international Taekwondo body: the ITF.
IOC puts some more stress on the further development of Taekwondo if it wants to stay in the Olympic program, so things are going on rather fast in these days:
The World Taekwondo Federation and the International Taekwondo Federation have agreed in principle to establish a committee to discuss technical aspects of the two taekwondo bodies.
At their two-day talks in Beijing on June 27 and 28, the two sides agreed to have one co-chairman and two to three members from each side for the proposed Coordination Committee for Technical Integration.They also agreed that the committee will first discuss technical matters related to poomsae, which refers to taekwondo patterns, and competition methods, while trying to find any possible ways for the two taekwondo organizations to jointly participate in the Olympic Games.
The two sides agreed that the launch of the Coordination Committee is subject to the approval of their respective decision-making organs, such as the Executive Council and the General Assembly.
The agreement was signed between Manseek Choe, deputy secretary general of the WTF, and Yong-son Ri, deputy secretary general of the ITF.
The WTF is scheduled to hold its Executive Council meeting in Seoul on July 20, in which the ITF issue will be on the agenda.
This won't mean that WTF and ITF will merge in the near future, but it shows that there is some progress going on into the direction of a real unified Taekwondo all over the world. The next General Assembly will have interesting topics on its agenda!
