World Taekwondo has strengthened its commitment to the prevention of harassment and abuse with 13 individuals accepted to the September 2023 cohort of the IOC’s Certificate: Safeguarding Officer in Sport programme.

A total of 108 students will take part in the eight-month course, and Taekwondo’s 13 representatives is the greatest number from any Olympic sport. Taekwondo’s cohort includes staff from World Taekwondo, selected competition supervisory officials, and representatives from all five of World Taekwondo’s Continental Unions. This group was selected to reflect World Taekwondo’s commitment to ensuring all of its stakeholders implement safeguarding practices and will work in an integrated fashion with World Taekwondo’s Seoul-based Integrity Unit.

On successful completion of the IOC programme, the representatives will be equipped with knowledge, practical skills, and confidence to fulfil roles as Safeguarding Officers and act as focal points for safeguarding within the sport.  They will assist in developing strategies for implementing, monitoring and evaluating safeguarding policies, and contribute to the development and implementation of athlete-centred response systems for managing cases of harassment and abuse.

World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choe said:

“World Taekwondo is committed to safeguarding athletes of all ages from harassment and abuse. We recognise that we must always strive to do more and integral to that is equipping our members with the latest knowledge and training. The IOC Certificate Safeguarding Office in Sport programme will provide our stakeholders with critical skills that they can apply within Taekwondo and which they can use to help advise and strengthen principles and policies for safeguarding within our organisation.”

The IOC course is conducted online and involves a variety of teaching methods with digital lectures, online tutorials, web-based materials and online forums.