Governance changes for World taekwondo - Federation focus

(ATR) Major amendments to the statutes of World Taekwondo will be going to the federation’s general assembly for an electronic vote.

The World Taekwondo Council approved the revision of the statutes this week. Age limits and term limits have been placed on elected positions.

Elected officials will only be able to serve a maximum of three consecutive terms before a break of at least four years. They are also limited to accumulatively serving a maximum of three terms in any one position.

The count of terms served begins after the reforms are passed, so Chungwon Choue can run for a fifth term as president later this year.

As for age limits, no new candidates over 70 can run for office while no one over 80 can stand for re-election. At age 73, Choue still qualifies to run again.

The federation also seeks to achieve gender equal representation within its council, commissions and committees by 2029.

The number of appointed members to the 37-person Council will be reduced by four, with those spots now being filled by elected individuals. At least one Council member per continent must be female. The woman with the highest number of votes will be elevated to vice president.

Continental Unions must follow the federation guidelines that require two-thirds of its Council members to be elected by their general assembly. The Continental Unions must adopt the changes by July 9 so that the new rules are in force for the upcoming federation elections.

Pending approval by the World Taekwondo general assembly, the new statutes will be applied at the elections for president and council scheduled for October 11. The elections will be held virtually if the pandemic prevents them from being held in-person ahead of the Wuxi 2021 World Taekwondo Championships in China.

Choue said in a statement the proposed changes "are critical in supporting our efforts to ensure that World Taekwondo becomes one of the most sustainable and innovative International Federations (IFs). Today, we gave a clear signal that we want to proactively change and be a model IF for others to follow, instead of following others."

No Challengers for BWF Executive Board

The top leadership of the Badminton World Federation will remain unchanged after elections next month.

The federation announced today thatPresident Poul-Erik Høyer (Denmark), Deputy President KhunyingPatama Leeswadtrakul (Thailand) and Vice President-Para Badminton Paul Kurzo (Switzerland) are all running unopposed.

There are 30 candidates for the 20 positions on the federation's Council. Click here to see the list.

The elections will be conducted virtually using electronic voting systems at the 82nd BWF Annual General Meeting on May 22. The AGM is also being held online.

World Rugby Unveils Long-Term Strategic Plan

World Rugby launches "A Global Sport for All – True to its Values", a guide to advance and grow the sport through to 2025.

The federation said the strategic plan includes the long-term response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a focus on evolving the game with player welfare at the forefront. It also sets "clear game-changing targets" on enhancing competitions, growing participation and increasing engagement, inclusion and diversity in the sport.

"The ambitious Strategic Plan 2021-25, recognizes the current challenges and sets out a long-term roadmap to support and develop rugby around the globe. It will focus and guide us as we work to ensure the game is as enjoyable, accessible, appealing and safe as possible, with player welfare remaining our number one priority," World Rugby Chair Bill Beaumont said in a statement.

"This is not just a plan for World Rugby, it is a plan for the whole rugby family that has embraced input from across the rugby community, from unions and regions to partners and stakeholders. Everyone has a role to play, whether they be a player, parent, fan, volunteer, coach or administrator, and we look forward to driving the sport forward together," he added.

European Games Adds Cycling

Cycling joins the sports program for the European Games 2023.

The European Olympic Committees (EOC) and the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC) announced on Wednesday the inclusion of two cycling events -- Mountain Biking and Freestyle BMX -- on the sports programme for the third edition of the European Games in Kraków-Małopolska, Poland.

This will be the third appearance for cycling at the European Games after featuring in the inaugural Games at Baku 2015 and the second edition at Minsk 2019.

For 2023, both the Mountain Biking and Freestyle BMX events will serve as European Championships and will offer ranking points to athletes attempting to qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The European Games Kraków-Małopolska 2023 are set to include roughly two dozen Olympic and non-Olympic sports. Cycling joins archery, badminton, beach handball, boxing, canoe, karate, modern pentathlon, muaythai, shooting, sports climbing, taekwondo and triathlon on the 2023 program. The EOC said more sports will be added in the coming weeks.

Federation Focus is presented by the International Weightlifting Federation. Click here for more on the IWF.

Homepage photo: World Taekwondo

Written by Gerard Farek