2nd WT Gender Equity and Women Leadership Forum Charts Path For Female Participation

World Taekwondo (WT) President Chungwon Choue expressed his hope that the Gender Equity and Women Leadership Forum will create a meaningful legacy for women in Taekwondo.

The second edition of the virtual forum took place on March 6-7, 2021, which was co-hosted by UK Sport.

“Through the World Taekwondo Gender Equity and Women Leadership Forum, we have created a platform to showcase the achievements of women in and through sport,” Choue said at the forum. “The forum is not just for World Taekwondo, but an initiative to work with other organizations to advance the values of gender equity and equality together. I hope the World Taekwondo Gender Equity and Women Leadership Forum will create a pathway and legacy for women for many years to come.”

“There is much to celebrate and we have made positive progress in the journey but it is an ongoing journey and there is no time to stop,” said UK Sport Chair Dame Katherine Grainger, who shared her journey from Olympian to sports leadership. “We can use this weekend to feel energized and re-inspired to continue on the quest for genuine equity.”

“We should all feel a sense of responsibility,” she added. “We all have a role to play whatever position we may be in and that individual and collective responsibility will make a positive change.”

Distinguished speakers included IOC Executive Board Member and Vice Chair of the IOC Women in Sport Commission, HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, who spoke of the need to ensure that gender equity was addressed at every level of sport. IOC Member and President of World Rowing Jean-Christophe Rolland shared his federation’s active role in advancing gender equality through institutional changes.

Jordanian National Commission for Women’s Affairs Secretary General Salma Nims delivered a powerful and thought-provoking presentation on gender equality during the ongoing pandemic. She was joined by Lisa Hindson, Advisor for Games Planning, Venue Operations, Readiness and Knowledge at the IOC, who spoke of sport event management during COVID-19.

A session was dedicated to psychology in sport. It saw contributions from IOC Senior Sports Intelligence Manager Niccolo Campriani, Sarah Broadhead, Team GB Sports Psychologist, and Dana Touran, member of the World Taekwondo Development Committee.

The final session involved a Q&A with inspiring young Taekwondo female ambassadors including Para-Taekwondo athlete Maisie Catt who has aspirations to represent Team GB in the future.

Women’s Open Championships: ‘Historic Decision’ for Saudi Arabia

The first-ever World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships were held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Nov. 25-27, 2021, which were hailed as “historic” for sport in the kingdom.

The three-day, G-4 event, the first global Taekwondo event hosted in Saudi Arabia, drew 171 athletes from 36 countries as well as a refugee team.

As many as 20 Olympians from Tokyo 2020 participated in the Riyadh 2021 World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships, including silver medalists Lauren Williams from Great Britain and Tatiana Minina from the ROC, and bronze medalists Tijana Bogdanovic from Serbia, Ruth Gbagbi from Cote d’Ivoire and Great Britain’s Bianca Walkden. Other notable athletes included two-time world champion Jae-young Sim of Korea and Olympic Refugee Team athletes Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin and Dina Pouryounes Langeroudi.

Eight weight categories were contested -46kg, -49kg, -53kg, -57kg, -62kg, -67kg, -73kg and open weight. The championship was a single-elimination system with the first two days of competition dedicated to preliminaries and semi-finals. On Nov. 27, the last of the preliminaries and semi-finals took place before finals in all eight weight categories.

Winning athletes secured 40 ranking points with second and third places taking 24 and 14.4 ranking points, respectively.

“Taekwondo is a global sport which is open to all and we pride ourselves on being gender equal,” said World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue. “We know we can develop Taekwondo further, and by hosting the Women’s Open Championships in

Riyadh, we will help promote gender equality in the Middle East and around the world.”

Ten Saudi athletes were amongst the 171 players and 85 officials from 36 countries.

The 10 pioneering players representing the kingdom were Tayba Al Sharif, Lara Kazim, Rahaf Al Shammari, Nuha Al Maymani, Ethar Hayyan, Sara Al Shaer, Abrar Bukhari, Mays Al Shammari, Dunya Abu Talib and Turtila Al Taweel. The team was led by Nujood Al Imam in addition to coach Fatimah Hayat and physiotherapists Amna Al Assaf and Raghad Al Ghamdi. President of the Saudi Taekwondo Federation Shaddad Al Amri described the inauguration of the World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships as “a historic decision for sport in Saudi Arabia.”

“We are fully prepared from all technical and organizational aspects and the Saudi female players are raring to go in what will be the largest Saudi team to compete in a global competition like this,” he said.

WT Implements Strategy to Ensure Half of Referees Are Women

In the words of the United Nations: “While the world has achieved progress toward gender equality and women’s empowerment, women and girls continue to suffer discrimination in every part of the world.”

Building on its ongoing efforts to promote and respect gender equality, World Taekwondo (WT) has developed and implemented a strategy designed to guarantee that half of all referees officiating at WT-sanctioned events are women – representing a substantial step toward gender equality.

WT has dedicated a considerable amount of time and effort to identifying and training female referees, increasing their technical knowledge and ensuring they qualify to international standards.

WT’s work with member national associations to develop the skills of female referees and promote female athletes has created a snowball effect, encouraging greater participation from members of the gender split. Since then, WT is striving for the gender equality policy to be implemented at all of its major events, and for the Continental Unions and member national associations to follow its lead.

The policy has created awareness among the Taekwondo community about the issue while also encouraging more women and girls to take part in the sport at all levels.

The initiative has led to an increase in the number of WT referees, which previously had an unequal gender split, roughly two thirds male, one-third female. The gender gap gave WT an opportunity to be a role model and actively demonstrate the fair play principles it has promoted for many years: openly stating that WT can be an agent for change in removing any potential barriers to women’s participation in Taekwondo, and ensuring that women have a strong presence in various roles across the sport.

The policy has helped create a more inclusive organization that recognizes the organizational and international value of providing equal opportunities for women involved in Taekwondo. The increased number of female referees has also sent a clear message to female Taekwondo athletes that refereeing opportunities may be available to them after they finish their competing career.

WT Appoints 1st Female Head of Referee Committee

The appointment of American Amely Moras as chair of the World Taekwondo Referee Committee in 2021 was a first. As World Taewkondo (WT) marches toward equality in all areas, she is the first woman to head the critically important committee.

“My vision is to be able to grow and further refereeing,” Moras said. “I want to be able to give opportunities so everyone can take advantage and take it back to their countries and hopefully grow, so that everyone is familiar with the rules.”

Aiming to make fights as action-packed as possible, WT has introduced a “best of three rounds” system. The new format was first implemented at the Roma 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix.

It was Moras’ job to ensure all referees were properly informed and trained to adapt to the changes this system has on the way athletes fight.

“The best of three system creates a very exciting match and everyone is really focused on winning that first round,” she said. “If you don’t win then you have a clean slate for the next round.”

These changes to the rules, offer more “dynamic and exciting action” she said. “That is good for the crowd, but is more work for the refs.”

Zimbabwe’s Teenage Taekwondo Trainer Natsiraishe Maritsa Wins IOC Women and Sport Award for Africa

was one of the highlights of the forum. WT has also been working with the Zimbabwe Taekwondo Association and the Korean government-funded Taekwondo Promotion Foundation to send equipment and supplies to support her initiative. WT will continue to monitor her journey and provide the necessary help along the way.

WT President Chungwon Choue said: “Natsiraishe thoroughly deserves this award in recognition of the crucial work she is doing in supporting young women in her community. Her determination to reduce inequalities through sport and raise awareness through the global media has also helped these vulnerable women and girls attend school and receive quality education. It is truly inspirational to witness her contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals and Olympic Agenda.”

The IOC Women and Sport Trophy represents opportunity, recognition and empowerment. Each year, the IOC Women and Sport Awards are given to women, men or organizations which have made remarkable contributions to the development, encouragement and reinforcement of women and girls’ participation in sport.

THF Athlete Wins IOC Scholarship for Paris 2024

Natsiraishe Maritsa, an 18-year-old Taekwondo trainer from Zimbabwe, was recognized on Feb. 3, 2022 for her selfless efforts to use Taekwondo to empower young girls in her community, as she was awarded the Winner for Africa at the IOC Women and Sport Awards.

Maritsa drew global attention in 2021 as the story spread of how she was fighting child marriage in Zimbabwe through a combination of Taekwondo and discussions about the dangers of early marriage. Maritsa founded the Vulnerable Underaged People’s Auditorium Initiative in 2018 and teaches young girls Taekwondo to instil self-confidence and create a safe space where they can share concerns and experiences and discuss issues such as child pregnancy and gender-based violence and harassment.

Maritsa said: "Taekwondo tenets empowered me to fight for child marriages and had positive results to people who I impacted the Taekwondo tenets to. With Taekwondo we are indeed champions of freedom, justice and peace."

Maritsa was nominated for the award by World Taekwondo (WT). She like so many around the world was inspired by her actions. Maritsa was invited to speak at the 2nd World Taekwondo Gender Equity and Women Leadership Forum in March 2021 and

Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) athlete Yahya Basam Al-Ghoutani was awarded a Refugee Athlete Scholarship by the IOC in 2022 to help him train toward the goal of being selected for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Paris 2024.

Al-Ghoutani met with IOC President and Chair of the Olympic Refuge Foundation Thomas Bach, alongside fellow Taekwondo refugee athlete Wael Fawaz Al-Farraj , during Bach’s visit to Jordan. The meeting took place at the JOC’s Olympic Preparation Center where Bach was visiting.

Al-Ghoutani became the eighth Taekwondo athlete to have been awarded a Refugee Athlete Scholarship for Paris 2024, along with compatriot Wael.

Al-Ghoutani is a Syrian refugee living in the Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan. He has been training in Taekwondo through the THF since he was 15 and became the THF’s second black belt back in 2018.

“We are delighted that Yahya has been awarded this IOC Scholarship,” said THF Chair Chungwon Choue. “We are thankful to the Olympic Refuge Foundation and Olympic Solidarity for the support they are providing Yahya and our other Taekwondo refugee athletes as they pursue their Olympic dreams.”