WT Continental Union Presidents’ Messages

African Taekwondo Union

Issaka Ide

It is a great honor for me to extend to you my best wishes for the new year and to look forward to a future with great optimism.

World Taekwondo has supported our development programs, in education, in training, and in support of competitions.

2022 saw the successful organization in Niger of the first-ever African Para Taekwondo Championships. I congratulate the organizers of the various other competitions held in Africa, including the Senegal Open, the African Championships in Rwanda and the Niger Open.

Also in 2022, we worked with Namibia for the creation of its federation, which joins the African Taekwondo Union (AFTU) and WT. By pursuing the same goal with Eritrea, we hope to convince it to join us very soon.

We were delighted that the trophy for the best referee of 2022 was awarded to a Tunisian, and warmly encourage all our African athletes who distinguished themselves in competitions.

Looking ahead, we will raise more interest around the practice of Taekwondo in refugee camps on the continent. AFTU has signed an agreement to this end with the THF.

At the administrative level, we note the remarkable rapprochement between the Kukkiwon and the Continental Unions, which will now work together. AFTU congratulates the new president of Kukkiwon on his election.

We welcome the evolution of Taekwondo in e-sport as an intelligent assimilation and a well thought out adaptation to the realities of the digital world.

warmly congratulate all Taekwondoins, the coaching staff, the officials, the referees and the athletes, wish peace and unity to the great organization of Taekwondo in the world and to all practitioners.

dedicate to you my best wishes of success, unity and achievement for 2023.

Asian Taekwondo Union

Kyu Seok Lee

We are welcoming the new year again.

COVID-19, which has been bothering us for years, seems to be weakening, but mutant viruses are emerging. Moreover, the global recession keeps us on our toes.

When we are in critical situations, we do more research and work harder to overcome crises. In the new year, I hope that our Taekwondo family will overcome all difficulties.

The rules of Taekwondo competition have been amended several times. In addition, to minimize disputes during the games, we have been using electronic scoring systems since the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

With that and instant video replays, doubts about the referees’ decision, which had been a problem, have lessened.

In the meantime, there have been efforts by World Taekwondo to introduce Taekwondo to refugee camps. WT has also been conducting external audits to increase transparency in our operations.

Based on these and other efforts, Taekwondo is at the A2 rank in the latest ASOIF evaluation. This is helping to secure Taekwondo as an Olympic official event.

sincerely hope that we will not settle for that result, but will work together to make it easier for audiences to understand the scores and Gam-jeoms in matches, and to make Taekwondo a more dynamic game that excites audiences.

As a result of the united efforts of our world Taekwondo family, wish that Taekwondo will grow further into Mu-do, Mu-sul, and sports that contribute to the promotion of health, self-defense and character-building in the world.

Happy new year!

European Taekwondo Union

Sakis Pragalos

Our athletes have done an amazing job in the past year. They have participated in many events at European and World level, and have shown that Europe as a continent is still leading the game.

For that, am grateful and proud!

The past year has shown us that we have been able to adjust to the COVID-19 crisis that hit all of us hard.

Our federations are flourishing again, our events have returned to the tempo that we had before the pandemic started, and for 2023 I hope we can continue with our events and activities as we did in the years before.

In 2023, we have the European Games in Poland, the Presidents Cup in Turkiye and the European Clubs Championships in Bulgaria coming up.

For Cadets and Juniors, my team is working on a new event series based on the European Rankings we introduced in 2021. In addition, we have three G2 events on our continent as well.

For our Paralympic athletes, we have two major events this year: the European Championships in Rotterdam, as part of a Paralympic multisport event, and our regular European Championships, which is, in fact, open for all countries worldwide.

In 2023 we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the European Poomsae Championships.

Austria hosted the first event and we are now discussing having the event again in Austria after 30 years.

Also this year, we hope to host the European Poomsae Cup again.

am grateful for all the hard work our vice presidents, Council members, referees, contractors, committee chairs, staffers and all other officials have done in the past year.

And also, our federations, coaches and trainers, who are day in, day out, working to make our sport better. Without all these people involved in our sport, ETU would not be in the place where it is today.

Oceania Taekwondo Union

John

Kotsifas

2022, a post-pandemic year, was busy. The year’s highlights took place in Tahiti: The Presidents Cup, Tahiti Open and Oceania Championships. Well done to all involved.

Linda Pace, our Poomsae director, was appointed CSB for the Muju World Poomsae Online Open Challenges 1 and II. Education Chairs Denzil Ray and Pace conducted a Zoom Coach-Referee Introduction Pathway seminar for 12 Oceania MNAs.

Pace was also appointed to WT’s Poomsae Committee, delivered online Poomsae education seminars, and refereed at the Goyang World Poomsae Championships. We also announced our online Oceania Open Poomsae Championships.

We signed an athlete development agreement with Mexico Taekwondo, and coach and referee online programs continued to be delivered to members by Ray.

Janine Watson, bronze medalist from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, was elected chair of our Athletes Committee.

Secretary General Stuart Lee was appointed WT Technical Delegate for the 2023 Pacific Games, in the Solomon Islands and also for the 2022 Presidents Cup, Oceania Championships and Tahiti Open in Tahiti. Lee negotiated an agreement with the Solomon Islands National Olympic Committee to have players attend Australian training camps. He also attended the All-Sports Technical Delegates conference in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Lee and Ray travelled to the Solomons for a training camp and coach/referee education.

We announced our online Oceania Open Poomsae Championships. I attended the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) and Olympic Sports Federations of Oceania (OSFO) meetings held in Fiji.

WT Council Member Maher Magableh was awarded by WT for his constant support of refugees through Taekwondo and the THF.

Our funding application for development funds from ONOC, administered through OSFO, was successful. Samoan Olympian Kaino Thomsen attended the ONOC Athletes Committee Meeting in Nadi, Fiji Meetings were held with the Taekwondo Promotional Foundation (TPF) both in Melbourne and Canberra, on development support for Oceania MNAs in 2023.

We will be discussing development fund allocations for 2023 with WT so that we are able to do the things we need to ahead of the 2023 Pacific Games, the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. Sustained, long-term investment is key to our development and competition success

Pan American Taekwondo Union

Juan Manuel Lopez Delgado

In 2022, after huge changes, the world finally came back to life. After we learned the true sense of brotherhood and teamwork, humanity began the road to economic reconstruction, and we continued to walk towards a new Olympic cycle.

Firstly, I want to congratulate all members of the PATU Council, and all our staff, for winning the Best Continental Union in 2022. It was a lot of work and a long journey to achieve a dream. All together, we started creating a new PATU reality. We will excel on the path to Paris. Every country in our continent has made the commitment to open their doors to welcome the World Taekwondo family, work together and achieve our next giant goal.

We start 2023 with a full agenda, our backs carrying big dreams for athletes and coaches, working together for one big project, as a continent and as a team. 99% of the countries in Pan America are committed to create a new era of Taekwondo - an era where PATU leads international competitions and keeps world champions titles on our continent.

To all PATU members, encourage you to keep up the efforts, the hard work to maintain and expand the full administrative compliance and unity we have built in 2022. want to send my best wishes for celebration, unity, joy, health, and prosperity to the entire World Taekwondo family. 2022 has been a year of digging furrows. 2023 will be the season when we harvest.

Thank you to the exceptional leadership of President Chungwon Choue, the WT Council and the office, for all your support in 2022.

Expect to hear more from us in 2023. I, and all at PATU, will be restless in chasing excellence.