WTF decides finally about Electronic Protector
By WTF
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
The time has come for WTF to organize a last test to decide about the use of electronic protectors at the upcoming World Championships in Beijing and furthermore at the Olympics 2008. Therefore an invitational tournament has been set up on March 4th and 5th 2007
. It will be held at the Hoban Gymnasium in downtown Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, and it is expected to draw about 200 athletes and officials from about 20 countries.Athletes will compete in four male and four female Olympic categories on a single-elimination tournament format. The WTF will provide athletes with electronic body and head protectors produced by Korea's LaJUST.
At the opening ceremony of the electronic protector event a demonstration of taekwondo practitioners with a disability and a display of competition uniforms for taekwondo poomsae will be staged. Given the importance of the event, the two-day championships will be broadcast live across Korea at least for two hours a day.
LaJUST company has signed a contract with WTF as the official supplier of electronic protectors on Sept. 11, 2006. The development of electronic protector systems by LaJUST dates back to 1982, when it established a research institute, EIDSS (Electronic Impact and Detection Scoring System), in New Heaven, Connecticut, the United States. LaJUST succeeded in producing its first electronic protector system, FP-1, in 1984. In 2004, it produced its latest sixth electronic protector system. So far its product is the only one that passed the requirements of WTF.
Originally three international companies - Korea's LaJUST, ATM of Austria and Impact Measurement, a joint venture between the United States and Korea - have entered the competition about developing an electronic protector. In July 2005 WTF organized its first demonstration organized by its ad-hoc Reform Committee, which was created in November 2004 and concluded its operations in February 2005. After the demonstration, the WTF commissioned the Korea Institute of Sports and Science to produce a report on basic specifications of electronic protectors and the KISS announced its specifications.
The WTF held its second demonstration of electronic protectors on March 25, which drew four companies - LaJUST, adidas (ATM), True Score, formerly Impact Measurement, and Daedo International of Spain. Of the four participants, LaJUST was the only company that passed the "acceptable" level of the basic technical requirements in four categories to be applied to taekwondo competitions. The four categories are accuracy of the sense-impact, differentiation of valid impact and invalid impact, consecutive impacts, and calibration. According to the KISS report to the WTF, LaJUST also passed the laboratory tests, which involved transmission system, safety on electricity and electronics and endurance of materials.
On Jan. 12, 2007, the WTF held its third demonstration attracting two companies - adidas of Germany and Daedo International. Adidas presented its electronic protector system engineered by ATM. Both companies failed to fulfil the WTF requirements so far. Therefore it will be LaJUST who provides the electronic equipment at the upcoming international events, provided that this last test scheduled for March 4th and 5th will be successful.
