The Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU) announced a significant change to World Taekwondo's (WT) referee training schedule for this year: the Refresher Course for International Kyorugi and Poomsae Referees, originally scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in May, has been relocated to Charlotte, United States.
The update, posted on PATU's official social media accounts (Instagram and Facebook), indicates that the course will be held in May 2026, although no exact date or detailed program for the event has been confirmed yet. The venue will now be Charlotte, a city with growing relevance in international taekwondo, which has recently hosted high-level events such as the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge.
These types of refresher courses are mandatory for active international referees certified by World Taekwondo. Their main objective is to update participants on the new rules and judging criteria in force—especially following the amendments approved at the WT General Assembly in 2025—to ensure uniformity in the application of Kyorugi and Poomsae regulations, and to strengthen preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The decision to move the venue from Rio de Janeiro to Charlotte is likely due to logistical, organizational, or availability reasons, although WT and PATU officials have not publicly detailed the specific reasons. Brazil, as a taekwondo powerhouse in Latin America, had initially been selected to host the event, which represented an opportunity for the region.
The PATU emphasized that more details will be provided shortly, including the registration process, participation requirements (such as seniority in IR certification, payment of annual fees, and experience in WT events), costs, and the course outline. The event is expected to combine theoretical sessions, practical sessions on the tatami, and evaluations to certify the referees' refresher training.
Interested international referees should pay close attention to official communications from World Taekwondo via its SimplyCompete platform, the PATU, and their national federations so as not to miss registration and preparation dates.
This adjustment is part of a broader series of referee training activities promoted by WT in 2026, which include other courses and selective camps in various regions of the world, with a focus on raising the technical level and preparing referees for major events in the Olympic cycle.
