Wednesday 27 July 2011
Electronic scoring systems for WTF Olympic style Taekwondo commenced development many years ago, however none were provided with official accreditation until only in recent years. La Just obtained WTF recognition and following this Daedo achieved recognition for their scoring systems. It is believed that this technology will have a significant impact on officiating at the matches of the modern Olympic sport of Taekwondo
These systems are an excellent idea and serve to further remove subjective decision making from the scoring of Taekwondo. As has been the case for many years, the subjective decision about what makes a score and what doesn’t has been based on whether the judge believes there is sifficient accuracy and impact. The accuracy has rarely been difficult to determine, however level of impact, or power of the technique, has been very difficult to ascertain.
The scoring systems currently being used have been thought to be very good, however from time to time we do see isolated instances of where the systems seem to award points where little impact is seen and on occasions where points really should not be scored. The chest protectors have build in sensors that determine the level of pressure of the scoring technique and send this wirelessly to a computer at the front of the court that decodes the message and translates it into a score displayed for the competitors, spectators, coaches and officials.
Recently at a tournament electronic scoring was used here in Queensland. This system is very new in Queensland and was used for the first time in Queensland for the Selection championships for Nationals.
Here is a video that shows some scoring that is at least very questionable. Please watch the entire video to view in full speed and slow motion some scoring techniques between two Taekwondo athletes. There is a point that comes onto the scoring display at the end of the video that will be guaranteed to amaze you!
This article and video is not intended as any criticism of officials, scoring system brands, coaches or the athletes concerned. It is simply provided to facilitate some insights into the development of electronic scoring systems and procedures.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=qIzJ5OkRBXQ
