Korea won the right to host the 20th WTF World Taekwondo Championships in 2011 in the ancient city of Gyeongju at the WTF Council meeting in Cairo, Egypt on Nov. 29, 2009.
A four-member Korean delegation, headed by Mr. Jin Bang Yang, secretary general of the Korean Taekwondo Association, made a presentation for the Council members. Korea hosted the latest biennial World Taekwondo Championships in 2001 on Jeju Island.
Russia also earned the right to host the 2nd WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships in St. Petersburg in May 2010.
At the WTF Council meeting, which took place at the Conference Hall of the Egyptian Olympic Committee at the Cairo Stadium, WTF President Chungwon Choue announced the full list of the new Council members, which will serve until the General Assembly in 2013.
Under Article 11 of the WTF Rules and Regulations, the WTF President has the authority to appoint three vice presidents and seven Council members, including two athlete members, the Secretary General and the Treasurer.
The three newly appointed vice presidents are Mr. Phillip Walter Coles, an IOC member of Australia; Mr. Dai Soon Lee of Korea, president of the Asian Taekwondo Union; and Mr. Ivan Dibos, the IOC member of Peru.
The WTF President appointed Mr. Tae Eun Lee of Canada as the new Treasurer, while reappointing Mr. Jin Suk Yang as the secretary general of the WTF.
The seven newly appointed Council members are Mrs. Maria Borello Castillo of Guatemala; Mr. Coleman C. Y. Lee of Chinese Taipei; Mr. Michel Madar of Israel; Mrs. Carine Lahoud Murr of Lebanon; Mr. Anatoly Terekhov of Russia; and two athlete members of Mr. Dae Sung Moon of Korea and Ms. Myriam Baverel of France.
Mr. Athanasios Pragalos, president of the European Taekwondo Union, and Mr. Ji Ho Choi, president of the Pan American Taekwondo Union, are ex-officio Council members in their capacity as the president of WTF Continental Unions..
The WTF Council approved the formation of an ad-hoc WTF Committee for Reform Fund Allocation, headed by Mr. Phillip Coles, vice president of the WTF and IOC member from Australia.
The Committee members are Roberto Beltran Ramonetti of Mexico, secretary general of the Pan Am Taekwondo Union; Mr. Roger Piarulli, president of the French Taekwondo Union; Mr. Ide Issaka, president of the Niger Taekwondo Federation; Mr. Sung Chon Hong, a WTF Council member of the Philippines.
The ad-hoc committee will decide on criteria on the graded distribution system and the class ranking of the WTF Reform Fund for the 2nd quadrennial period of 2009-2012 for the WTF Member National Associations and the Continental Unions. The finalized criteria will be reported at the WTF’s next Council meeting and General Assembly scheduled for March 1 and 2, 2010, respectively in Tijuana, Mexico.
The Council approved that an equal amount of U.S.$5,000 will be distributed in cash for each WTF member national association and $20,000 to each Continental Union for the year of 2009.
The Council members heard a progress report from the Mexican Organizing Committee on the WTF World Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and the 8th WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships scheduled for March 2010 in Tijuana, Mexico.
There was also a presentation by the WTF Expansion and Membership Project Committee.
The Council meeting took place one day prior to the opening of the 2009 WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships. The championships are scheduled for Nov. 30-Dec. 2 at the Hall 1 of Cairo Stadium, drawing about 600 athletes from about 60 countries. A total of 16 gold medals are up for grabs at the annual event. [By WTF/NBC-1TV Nathan Yi]