ITF Umpire Rules & Tournament Guidelines

ITF Umpire Rules
The ITF Umpire Rules and Tournament Guidelines apply to international competitions endorsed by the International Taekwon-Do Federation.

See updates below rule booklet.

ITF-Umpire-Rules-2015

Latest Updates (May 2019)

Please be aware of the following updates of the ITF Rules:

  1. 2 competitors per category for World Championships.  Continental championships will not be capped
  2. Pre Juniors will compete in Pattern and Sparring, but not in Power or Special Technique
  3. Pre Junior and Senior Sparring will be 2 rounds of 1min 30sec throughout the competition
  4. Junior 14-17 year olds will compete in one age group category:  Sparring, Pattern, Breaking and Special Technique
  5. Adult and Senior competitors will compete in one division for Power and Special Technique
  6. Breaking, when there are more than 8 competitors, there will be a prequalification round

Updates (from July 2017):

Please find detailed below some rule updates for the ITF World Championships 2018.

The chosen delegated Team Pattern for the next World Championship in Argentina 2018 will be Ge-Baek

INDIVIDUAL PATTERN

Article 27

 Individual:

  • 1st degree will compete with 1st degree with the designated pattern from Choong-Moo to Ge-Baek and one optional between Kwang-Gae to Ge-Baek.
  • 2nd degree will compete with 2nd degree with the designated patterns from Ge-Baek to Ko-Dang and one optional between Eui-An to Ko-Dang.
  • 3rd degree will compete with 3rd degree with the designated patterns from Ko-Dang to Choi-Yong and optional between San-Il to Choi-Yong.
  • 4th degree will compete with 4th degree with the designated patterns from Choi-Yong to Moon-moo and one optional between Yong-Gae to Moon-Moo.
  • 5th degree will compete with 5th degree with the designated patterns from Moon-Moo to Se-Jong and one optional between So-San to Se-Jong.
  • 6th degree will compete with 6th degree with the designated patterns from Se-Jong to Tong-il and the optional from So-San to Tong-il.

Note: The tournament Committee reserves the right to amalgamate the 5th and 6th Degree’s sections

PATTERN TEAM

  • 1º the ring of individual Sparring will keep the measures of 7 x 7, and for Individual and Team Patterns measure of the area of ​​competence should be 11 x 11.
  • 2º during the execution of the team pattern only three ripples can be made, these cannot be executed during the slow, continuous, fast or connecting movements, nor in those movements where the kihaps are executed.
  • 3º the jury will award points from ready position to ready position without considering the entrances and leaving of the teams.
  • 4º it is optional for each team to leave or remain in the area of ​​competition between designated and optional forms.
  • 5°Team pattern will be from Choong-Moo to Ge-Baek.
  • 6º Master division, the teams will be composed of three competitors 7th Dan in above, will compete in team pattern only, with a designated pattern and an optional one, the pattern do not admit any type of breaks. The pattern will be So-Sam, Se-Jong and Tong-Il.
  • 7º The jury for team pattern  will be settled in the following way, the main judge will be located in front of the competitors, the other four will be located in the 4 corners of the competition area, so that the team pattern will be observed from all angles, they will award points according to the established criteria.
  • 8º the extra competitor in reserve can be used in all items of the competition in alternative way. The extra competitors in reserve cannot remain in the competition area while the team is competing. And it cannot be used in sparring in case of tie, nor to replace a competitor in the middle of the designated and optional pattern.

 

Characteristics of a good official:

  • Thorough knowledge of the umpire rules – educated and trained, updated regularly and correctly
  • Utmost Integrity, honesty and strength of character
  • Awareness
  • Good work ethic
  • Humility to accept constructive advice
  • Ability to follow instructions
  • To be flexible and adaptable in various official roles
  • Some appreciation of the competitor’s task
  • Ability to make logical, correct decisions quickly and under pressure
  • Punctual and enthusiastic
  • COMMON SENSE

 

United ITF Domestic Tournament Guidelines