POSTED: Thursday May 31st 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOA OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION STANDARDS PANEL MEETS WITH BRITISH TAEKWONDO REPRESENTATIVES

The British Olympic Association Olympic Qualification Standards (OQS) Panel met today with representatives of British Taekwondo and its performance division, Sport Taekwondo UK (STUK), to review the process by which STUK arrived at its nomination for Team GB in the Men’s Under 80 kg weight category for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The meeting took place this morning at the British Olympic Association (BOA) headquarters in Central London.  Representatives of STUK participated both in-person and via teleconference.

The OQS Panel is comprised of Team GB Chef de Mission Andy Hunt; Deputy Chefs de Mission Clive Woodward and Mark England; and BOA Athletes’ Commission Chair Sarah Winckless.

The OQS Panel is responsible for making certain that for those sports utilising Host Nation Qualification Places for London 2012, the agreed performance standards have been met; there is a meaningful legacy plan in place for the sport; and the process of nominating athletes to Team GB has been consistent with the agreed selection criteria and procedures.  The OQS Panel can only accept or reject nominations; it is not within the remit of the Panel to select individual athletes.

The OQS Panel commended British Taekwondo and STUK for the outstanding progress British taekwondo athletes have made in international competition during the past four years, and the meaningful steps that have been taken by the National Governing Body to improve its governance and management structures.  The Panel also recognised the complexity and difficulty of the decisions the Selection Committee had before it, particularly with respect to two outstanding and highly qualified athletes in the Men’s Under 80 kg weight category.

On the basis of the process that was followed by STUK in arriving at its nomination for the Men’s Under 80 kg weight category, it was the unanimous decision of the OQS Panel that it could not ratify the nomination.  The OQS Panel has written to STUK and requested that it reconvene its Selection Committee at the earliest opportunity and consider the following in bringing forward a nomination for the Men’s Under 80 kg weight category:

1) The clear guidance that was provided by an earlier Appeal Panel that directed all criteria should be weighed fairly and not disproportionately by the Selection Committee in evaluating athletes; in particular, a disproportionate amount of emphasis should not be given to the so-called ‘head shot rule’ in international taekwondo, which is subject to different interpretation, or any other factor

2) Both athletes should receive equal and in-person representation before the Selection Committee, preferably by their personal coach

3) All members of the Selection Committee who have a right to vote are in fact encouraged to do so as part of the nomination process

4) The BOA wishes to have an independent observer attend the Selection Committee Meeting

For more information, please contact the BOA Communications Team at +44 (0) 207 842 5700.

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Keywords · British Olympic Association · Andy Hunt · BOA · taekwondo

Name: British Olympic Association Communications Team
Organization: British Olympic Association
Email:
Phone: 442078425700
URL: http://www.olympics.org.uk

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