By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Electronic protectors will be used at the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) World Taekwondo Championships for the first time ever at this year's event in Copenhagen, Denmark, from Oct. 14 to 18.
Electronic protectors are meant to ensure fairer and more transparent judging and refereeing when used in conjunction with the newly-adopted instant video replay system.
WTF President Choue said, "We highly respect the Olympic spirit of fair play, and joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s efforts to ensure fairness in Olympic sport. The reforms we have carried out in line with the IOC's principles are a major step on the road to a more visible and fair scoring system, which will raise the standards of our sport. We now have more hope and confidence that our sport is moving closer to the IOC ideal."
WTF Secretary General Yang Jin-suk added, "The WTF has a responsibility to develop and improve the sport of taekwondo and these measures will help minimize human errors. However, we believe there is still room for improvement."
In 2005, a committee was established to evaluate the electronic protectors. Following a series of laboratory and field-testing evaluations, the LaJUST Electronic Body Protector (EBP) was recognized by the WTF in September 2006. So far, LaJUST is the only WTF-recognized electronic protector manufacturer. It was used successfully at the 2009 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships and the 1st WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan on June 10-14, 2009.
The positive evaluation by athletes, coaches and officials in Baku led the committee to recommend that electronic protectors be adopted for the upcoming 2009 World Taekwondo Championships in Copenhagen.
WTF President Choue said that the future use of electronic protectors at major competitions is subject to further improvements, including the correction of shortcomings noted by the ad-hoc committee. The WTF's basic policy is to work with any company whose electronic protectors meet the WTF criteria.
The decision comes as taekwondo attempts to build a new image for the sport ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.