WTF To Host First Ever Para-Taekwondo World Ranking Competition in 2015

WTF takes significant step forward in development of para-taekwondo

The World Taekwondo Federation today announced thatfor the first time ever para-taekwondo world rankings will be introduced at the Canada ParaTaekwondoOpen in February 2015 as part of the federation’s pledge to guarantee thehighest level of competition at Tokyo 2020 should the sport have the honour of beingincluded in the Paralympic Programme.

The Open will be held in Toronto, Canada, on 13-15 February and will kick-start a busy yearfor para-taekwondo with many national and international events planned for 2015. Parataekwondopoomsae (P20) competitions will take place on 13 February and para-taekwondokyorugi (K40) events are due on 15 February with athletes from all over the world invited totake part.

The competition will be assigned a G1 ranking and all future WTF recognised para-taekwondo championships will be assigned a grade as stipulated below:

Grade Event

8 WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships

4 Continental Para-Taekwondo Championships

2 Multisport events for Para-Athletes, IWAS World Games1 WTF G1 Tournaments for Para-Taekwondo

Athletes will be divided by class and by weight division and the world ranking points will becalculated and updated after every competition.

Ranking points will be allocated as follows:

Rank G1 G2 G4 G8

1st placed contestant 10.00 20.00 40.00 80.00

2nd placed contestant 6.00 12.00 24.00 48.00

3rd placed contestants 3.60 7.20 14.40 28.80

5th placed contestants 2.16 4.32 8.64 17.28

9th placed contestants 1.51 3.02 6.05 12.10

17th placed contestant 1.06 2.12 4.23 8.47

33rd placed contestant 0.74 1.48 2.96 5.93

65th placed contestant 0.52 1.04 2.07 4.15

Seeding of the top four athletes in each class and weight division will be applied to all WTFrecognised events.

Speaking following the announcement, WTF President Chungwon Choue said:

"This is a very significant step forward in the development of para-taekwondo. Our numberone priority is our athletes and the introduction of world rankings will ensure that the verybest athletes compete against each other regularly. Not only will this improve the competition but it will also provide the best spectacle for fans. If we have the honour of being included onthe Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Programme this world ranking system will form the basis of thequalification process and guarantee the IPC and the global para-sport fan base the verystrongest depth of field at the Paralympic Games."

The poomsae competitions for intellectually disabled athletes at the Open reflect the WTF’sone taekwondo philosophy as they look to provide equal opportunities for all athletes. TheOpen will be an opportunity for athletes to prepare for para-taekwondo’s inclusion as ademonstration sport at the INAS Global Games in Ecuador in 2015. The WTF hopes to beincluded as an official sport at the 2019 INAS Global Games.

Tony Nippard, President of Taekwondo Canada, added:

"We are honoured to be the first hosts of a world ranking para-taekwondo event. As acountry, Canada has excellent sports hosting experience and we are delighted to beproviding an opportunity for both kyorugi and poomsae athletes to compete at an elite levelin front of our sports-passionate crowd. I know that the introduction of world rankings will bevery well received by all the athletes and it is a reflection of the increasing professionalism ofthe sport. We look forward to welcoming athletes from all over the world to Canada."

For more information, please contact:Justin Shea on +44 7917 825412or at sg@wtf.org

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