The Athlete Categorisation for Taekwondo for 2023 has been completed in line with the Athlete Categorisation Guidelines published on the Australian Taekwondo and CombatAUS websites.
The sport-industry wide National Categorisation Framework consists of five levels across the Podium Pathway: Podium, Podium Ready, Podium Potential, Developing and Emerging. The Athlete Categorisation Guidelines for Taekwondo aligns, as is required, with these five Podium Pathway categories. It also includes a sport-specific (non-industry) Associate category to reflect athletes not yet categorised across the Podium Pathway but has competed at the most recent Benchmark Event for Australia.
Athlete Categorisation will be conducted annually in the final quarter of each calendar year, to take effect from January the following year. A mid-year categorisation consideration may occur in 2023 to reflect specific performances at events such as the 2023 World Championships, or to review the performance outcomes of specific athletes highlighted by the National Categorisation Panel. These will be specific circumstances that will be committed and communicated to affected individuals.
The following Athlete Categorisations have been approved by the Australian Institute of Sport and, unless otherwise communicated to specific athletes, will apply from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023.
It has been an action-packed start to 2024 for the Australian Taekwondo National Performance Pathways program and the tangible outcomes already appear promising.
Athletes kicked off the year in full force with a four-day training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Combat Centre – a multi-sport Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Canberra.
At the age of six, Amy Tierney – now the Owner and Head Instructor at Tierney’s Taekwondo Academy in NSW – discovered Taekwondo through a lucky break. Originally from Ingleburn in the south-west of Sydney, Tierney attempted to take up boxing at nearby Campbelltown PCYC, only to be told by an instructor that “girls don’t box”.
International Taekwondo events are set to return to Brisbane in 2024, with the World Taekwondo President's Cup (Oceania) and the Australian Open confirmed for September 18-22 at Nissan Arena. Open to the world's top black belts, athletes from World Taekwondo's 212 Member National Associations are invited to attend.
