By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] (December 9, 2020) - The finals of the 1st Online World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships have begun after more than 1,500 athletes from 98 countries took part in the inaugural event. 

The Championships is split into two competitions – the Online World Taekwondo G2 Poomsae Championships, open only to athletes who are members of their national team; and the Online World Taekwondo Open Poomsae Championships open to cadet, Junior and families of all ages.

The World Taekwondo G2 Poomsae Championships comprises 12 recognised poomsae and 2 freestyle categories, split across men and women. The finals of the 12 recognised poomsae competitions begun on December 7 and will take place each day until December 12. The Championships live streamed on the World Taekwondo website and official social media platforms. Athletes from 30 countries will compete in the finals. The final of the two freestyle categories will involve 16 athletes from 12 countries and will be streamed on pre-recorded video.

The World Taekwondo Open Poomsae Championships is open to family members of all ages in pairs and teams and has seven categories. Of these seven categories there is a family pair, where the participants must be of the same family but of two different generations; family team A comprising three family members of two different generations; and family team B comprising three family members of three different generations. There is also male and female cadet and junior categories. 

A total of 56 athletes from 17 countries will compete in the Open finals. The participants will submit their video entries for the final between December 7 and 11, allowing for two days of judging by the referees. The videos will be published on the World Taekwondo YouTube channel, with the three family categories published on December 14 and the cadet, junior and freestyle categories published on December 15.

World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue said:

“We have been hugely inspired by the first ever Online World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships. We have enjoyed all kinds of taekwondo; elite athletes under 30 years old all the way through to over 65; and taekwondo enthusiasts competing alongside grandparents and grandchildren.

“The World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships has reinforced what an open and accessible sport taekwondo is. We wish all the finalists the very best of luck but no matter the result they have reminded us all that whatever our age, our gender or our skill level we can all remain active and have fun.”