First of all, let me wish you a happy, healthy and successful New Year. May you reach your goals and keep your New Year´s resolutions. I sincerely hope for your ongoing commitment to our sport, to Taekwondo. It´s the enthusiasm and loyalty of its supporters worldwide that makes Taekwondo strong.

Like every Olympic year, 2008 was an eventful year for our sport. But 2009 will be no time of quiet either. In October, the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen will decide about the Olympic future of our sport after 2012. Also in October an important premiere is planned: the first Taekwondo World Championships using an electronic protector system.

For the majority of the Taekwondo practitioners this would indeed be a dream come true. To lose an important match because of controversial judging is one of our players’ worst fears, whereas guaranteed fair play is their greatest wish. During an ordinary match of three rounds, a single point gained by the opponent or lost by himself because of the judges may not be so bad for an experienced player. There is always the chance to make up for such a point. But not in the fourth round, the sudden death round, dreaded by players and loved by spectators.

Here a single point is the only thing that makes the difference between winning and losing. We all remember times when an important match at a high-level tournament was decided by a golden point – and followed by great controversy. So with the introduction of the fourth round, the cries for an electronic protector system grew louder. Several systems have been developed in the recent past, and a lot of practical experience has been made. Players and coaches found out that they not only want an electronic protector system, but that these protectors should meet certain criteria.

The big question now is what are the criteria? What is really important for a system that players and coaches can trust? The basics are clear by now: an electronic protector system has to have sensors that can be fine-tuned for players of every weight category from children to heavy-weight men. Also, it has to measure and to show the exact force a player administers, from zero to infinity. What else?

Well, first of all, such a system should have a built-in control system that shows if the sensors are working correctly. There can always be technical problems due to malfunction, wear and tear or due to quite another reason. With the electronic protector, a player carries on his own body a device that helps his opponent to score. The temptation to manipulate this device just a little bit so that it doesn’t work very well is great. We learned to depend on technique but also to mistrust it. Who doesn’t appreciate a car with a good safety system today? The electronic protectors are about fair play and trust – so we should equip them with a very good self-monitoring system.

The same applies to problems with the wireless connection. If it is weak or there is interference from another signal, there has to be a warning. It goes without saying that the signals from different courts must not interfere with each other. To find out if a hit on the electronic protector really scores a point, and on the right score board the players just hit their own electronic trunk protector with force: if the system reacts it is okay, if not, there is something wrong. Here we need an exact measurement. It is not only important to know if the scorer scores points at all, but also that it correctly registers the force a player used. For this we need a special test device. It is also essential that the electronic trunk protector measures the force exactly every time it is used and everywhere, on the breast as well as on the solar plexus and on the front as well as on the sides.

The electronic protector has to score a hit made by a permitted technique on a permitted area, regardless of the angle of the hit. And, ideally, it should rule out techniques which are not permitted.
These are the most important points. There are additional factors players wish for: for example, that the protectors are light-weight. Coaches are interested in the price, which should be affordable for all. It´s important for the event directors to know that the signals sent by the system do not interfere with external radio or other waves.

If all the conditions mentioned above are fulfilled, we have an ideal system. But, the electronic protectors cannot exist on their own – there still have to be judges who give points for the head shots. The face is a legal scoring area, and we cannot have sensors there. Also, our new rules demand judges who give additional points for certain techniques. How electronics, judges, and the planned video referee can interact is a question still to be solved. How to make tournament interesting for spectators is the subject of next month’s Parks Pages.