World Para Taekwondo Newsletter
August 2020 | Issue #2
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I send you my warmest greetings and I am happy and proud to present to you the second edition of World Para Taekwondo’s monthly newsletter. We hope that you are staying safe and training hard during this COVID-19 pandemic.
The PTC will launch the inaugural WT Para Taekwondo Coach Education: Level 1 in September 2020. Please note that this seminar is specifically geared toward Para Taekwondo coaches.
Clubs are the first point of contact for persons with an impairment. However, clubs might not be prepared for receiving and training persons with an impairment. In order to provide clubs with the knowledge and tools to welcome persons of all impairments to learn taekwondo, the PTC is designing an education programme. MNAs will be contacted in the near future for the next steps to make the education available to clubs.
The PTC has also been working diligently with the Para Taekwondo Classification Committee on education for national medical and technical classifiers, as outlined in last month’s newsletter. It is my pleasure to introduce you to the Para Taekwondo classification members in this newsletter.
I would like to remind our MNA’s to kindly fill out the Para Taekwondo Participant Survey that was sent to you on 26 June if you have not submitted it already.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Para Taekwondo Committee.
I wish you all the best and please stay healthy and safe. Together we can contribute and make Para Taekwondo grow.
Thank you.
Chakir Chelbat
Chair, Para Taekwondo Committee
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WT Para Taekwondo Classification Committee Chair |
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Terrie Moore
Chair
Canada
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The Classification Committee and its working groups are a combination of WT International medical and technical classifiers.
The committee members are Terrie Moore, Chair; Joan Hacken, Vice Chair; Judi Cameron; Primos Rus; and David O’Sullivan.
During the past couple of months the committee met several times to review and revise the existing sports class profiles for Kyorugi and Poomsae. We are also developing sports class profiles for additional impairments groups in Poomsae such as wheelchair users, people with visual impairments, and persons of short stature.
Another working group has been working on the revisions of the National Para Taekwondo Classifiers Course to change the format to an online education platform. This new course is set to go live in September, enabling MNAs to develop their national classification systems.
Possible candidates should fit into one of two categories: medcial or technical. Typically, medical classifiers work with people with physical impairments as part of their practice, while technical classifiers should have a background in biomechanics and taekwondo.
The process for applying for the WT National Classifier Course will be available soon.
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The Para Taekwondo committee has established dates for the Para Taekwondo Coach Certification course Level 1, which will be offered in September. We are currently planning dates for Level 2 and Level 3 as well as the online National Classifier Course, these dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
Para Taekwondo Coach certification will become mandatory for all coaches participating in official WT Para Taekwondo competitions from 2021.
For more information, please contact World Para Taekwondo here.
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Registrations open on Friday August 14, 2020 |
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World Taekwondo is the world's governing body for taekwondo recognised by the IOC and IPC. It also serves as the umbrella organisation for 210 MNAs.
To date, 85+1 MNAs have been active in Para Taekwondo on the international stage. Let's make that number grow!
Remembering that MNAs have a responsibility to "provide Para athletes with a pathway to international competition and the Paralympic Games" (Art. 16.11), World Taekwondo would like to assist MNAs to develop the organisational structure needed to make this happen.
That's why we've developed this 'Getting Started' section as a "how-to" guide for MNAs looking to develop their Para Taekwondo programming. Last month, we looked at how to set-up your Para Taekwondo committee. This month we'll look at how to create contacts for your organisation.
Future issues will cover athlete recruitment, education, and long-term strategic planning.
All information from this section will be added to the World Taekwondo website later this summer.
2 - Creating Contacts
To be successful with your Para Taekwondo programme you need to create contacts and work together with other organizations - especially when it comes to finding athletes (more on that in a later issue).
All successful Para Taekwondo programmes work together with other organisations. This will help you in many ways, including finding athletes.
We've put together a list of useful organisations for you to start out with:
A good relationship with your National Paralympic Committee (NPC) is necessary as it is the only organisation in your country with the right to enter athletes to the Paralympic Games. This could also be a source of funding. In some countries, the NPC is also a member of IWAS, CPISRA, IBSA, and Virtus. (https://www.paralympic.org/teams-npc)
International Wheelchair and Amputee Sport (IWAS) is a founding member of the IPC and has a special interest in sport for wheelchair users and amputees. It also hosts the IWAS World Games every two years, where Para Taekwondo has been featured in the past. (https://iwasf.com/members/)
Cerebral Palsy International Sport & Recreation Association (CPISRA) specialises in sport for persons with neurological impairment and will have expertise in this area. CPISRA also hosts a World Games every four years and Para Taekwondo hopes to participate in the future. (https://cpisra.org/our-members/)
The International Blind Sport Federation (IBSA) specialises in sport for persons with visual impairments and will have expertise in this area. IBSA also hosts a World Games every four years with the next scheduled for Birmingham, Great Britain in 2023. Excellent for knowledge on athlete eligibility and classification. (https://www.ibsasport.org/ibsa-members/)
World Intellectural Impairment Sport (Virtus) provides the eligibility system that World Taekwondo uses for Para Taekwondo Poomsae competitions. Eligibilty applications should go through the national Virtus member. Virtus also holds a Global Games every four years. (https://www.virtus.sport/membership)
Deaf sports are separate from the Paralympic movement, but the International Committee of Sport for the Deaf (ICSD) holds expertise on the eligibility criteria for deaf athletes. Taekwondo has been included on the Deaflympics programme since 2009. This is an important relationship to have to support your deaf athletes. (https://www.deaflympics.com/countries)
Other Important Contacts
- National Sporting Organisations for Persons with Impairment
- National Governing Bodies for other Para Sports
- Government Institutions for Persons with Impairment
- Ministry for Persons with Impairment (if applicable)
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Para Taekwondo Around the World |
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World Taekwondo: Pan America
Brazil continues to be a Para Taekwondo pacesetter in the Pan American region. Buoyed by a boost in popularity in the country, Brazil continues to set records for numbers of participants and the spike in participation has led to increased opportunities for competitions and even the introduction of a national ranking system to assist in national team selection. Recently Brazil held the National Para Taekwondo Festival in Sao Paulo, an event for Para Taekwondo practitioners with disabilities that don’t normally fall under Para Taekwondo. More than 100 athletes took part – more than double last year’s attendance! Brazil also introduced a new rankings series, where athletes can compete in a series of four regional and two national championships to accrue points to compete for the national team. With world champions, Parapan Am champions, and three fighters competing in next summer’s Paralympic Games, the future looks bright for Brazil.
World Taekwondo Pan America (WTPA) has also been busy this summer organsing a series of virtual learning events for national coordinators of the Latin American region. Leaders of World Taekwondo, World Para Taekwondo, and the WTPA invited special guests to teach national coordinators topics that they could pass on to their respective federations. Topics included ‘The role of the national coordinator’, ‘Organisation & development of adapted sports’, and ‘Development of Poomsae P20 and P30 classes’. Special guests included WTPA Para Taekwondo Coordinator Fernando Akilian, Peru Paralympic Association President Lucha Villar, World Taekwondo medical classifier Dr. Andree Sasiain, and Virtus America’s Humberto Ferreira.
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World Taekwondo: Oceania
World Para Taekwondo Oceania has also been busy this summer launching its new ‘About Us’ webpage on the World Taekwondo Oceania website. The page features information on the WTO Board of Directors, the Para Committee members and advisors, the Para Committee’s roles and responsibilities, and information on the Oceania Paralympic Qualification tournament held on the Gold Coast in February. Oceania qualified four athletes for next summer’s Paralympic Games: Steven Currie, Kara Fournie, and Janine Watson from Australia, and Solomon Jagiri from the Solomon Islands.
To learn more about Janine Watson, check out her story on Channel 10’s ‘Totally Wild’ here.
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World Taekwondo: Asia
The UAE (United Arab Emirates) Taekwondo Federation and the UAE Paralympic Committee were pleased to work with the WPTA and the Dubai Police Academy to launch an ambitious initiative to train 10,000 athletes in UAE and around the world the sport of Para Taekwondo. Led by a group of experts from the Dubai Police Academy, the virtual trainings run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 20 July to 20 September from 17.00 to 18.00. To register, please visit htpps://us02web.zoom.us/j/9788128349.
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Usman Dildar
Vice Chair
Great Britain
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Amine Khelladi
Member
Algeria
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Marck Harb
Member
Lebanon
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Sookyung Park
Korea
Member
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Para Taekwondo Classification Committee |
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Joan Hacken
Vice Chair
Australia
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David O'Sullivan
Member
Ireland
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Judi Cameron
Memeber
Canada
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Primož Rus,
Member
Slovenia
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