Daegu World University Taekwondo Festival Launches Observer Program to Ensure International-Level Event Quality; On-Site Inspection at Seoul Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

The G1 Daegu2026 World University Taekwondo Festival Organizing Committee participated in the 'Observer Program' to enhance the operational quality of the event to international standards.

The Daegu Organizing Committee announced on the 22nd that it conducted the observer program by attending the 2026 Seoul Cup International Open Taekwondo Tournament held on the 21st at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Student Gymnasium.

The Observer Program is a system in which organizing committees hosting internationally funded tournaments directly observe similar international events to acquire operational know-how and conduct pre-event checks on risk factors. The program aims to reduce potential implementation errors in actual competitions by analyzing and learning on-site aspects of international tournaments, including game operations, referee assignments, athlete movement routes, safety management, volunteer operations, and spectator services.

The Daegu Organizing Committee explained, "The Daegu World University Taekwondo Festival, now in its third year, will not rest on past experiences but will actively incorporate the latest operational cases from international sports events to elevate the quality of the tournament."

The Seoul Cup International Open Taekwondo Tournament is one of Korea's representative taekwondo events, attracting approximately 2,000 athletes and officials. Various disciplines, including sparring (kyorugi), forms (poomsae), breaking (gyeokpa), and taekwondo gymnastics, are systematically organized.

Participants in this observation included practitioners from the Daegu Organizing Committee's Game Operations Division, as well as staff from Master Agency Escom covering game operations, registration, protocol, safety management, and administrative support.

They conducted intensive inspections on participant registration and AD card issuance, tournament bracket systems, venue layout and athlete movement routes, referee operations, medical support and emergency response systems, opening ceremony production, spectator convenience services, and volunteer management.

Park Ju-sik (Prof.), Gyeong Gi-un-yeong (Head) of the Daegu Organizing Committee, stated, "The Seoul Cup is an open tournament specialized in recreational taekwondo. We aim to use it as a reference for providing non-elite event services at the Daegu tournament as well."

Additionally, the Daegu Organizing Committee exchanged practical opinions with officials from the Seoul Cup Organizing Committee, sharing issues encountered during the preparation process and successful improvement cases.

Jeong Byeong-gi, Secretary-General (professor at Kyungpook National University) who is in charge of the overall tournament, emphasized, "The Observer Program is not merely a tour of other events but the most effective on-site training to improve the quality of international tournament operations."

He continued, "Since regulations and environments for international tournaments change annually, we cannot rest on established methods even for the third edition. We will re-examine and supplement even the smallest details to create a safe and dignified tournament that satisfies participating athletes, officials, and spectators."

Meanwhile, the G1 Daegu2026 World University Taekwondo Festival will be held from July 4 to 7, four days, at the Seoseo Campus Gymnasium of Kyungpook National University. Approximately 1,800 participants from over 20 countries are expected, and the Organizing Committee is currently accepting registrations.

This tournament is a WT G1-class international event co-hosted by the World Taekwondo Federation (WT) and the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The competition includes sparring (G1), official poomsae (G1), and free poomsae (G1) events.

The Daegu Organizing Committee plans to reflect the excellent operational cases and improvements identified through this observer program throughout the tournament operation manual. The goal is to establish a system compliant with international standards, covering everything from game operations to safety management and participant services.

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*This content was translated by AI.