Australia delivered an impressive campaign at the 2026 Kukkiwon World Hanmadang Championships, winning two gold, two silver and two bronze medals against a field of more than 4,000 competitors from 61 countries.
A number of Australians took part in the World Taekwondo International Poomsae Referee course held in Malaysia late last month. The course was the first to use proposed new rules, which will be introduced at the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships later this year.
Over the coming weeks, Ross Hartnett, Australian Taekwondo's National Poomsae Performance Director, will, in collaboration with the Poomsae Performance Committee and the National Poomsae Officiating Committee, devise a program of information and education about the proposed rules and technical interpretations, which will be rolled out to Australian Taekwondo members.
Ross and Carmela Hartnett, both from Western Australia, attended the International Referee refresher course, while Josh Flinn, Yu-Shu Flinn, and Maddy Houston, all from Queensland, participated in the International Referee course to qualify as International Referees.
The course consisted of two full days of Poomsae practice and technical explanation, two full days of theory and scoring practice, and a half-day of testing.
The Queensland trio will wait for the results to see if they reached the 75% pass mark in each of the tested areas: Practical Poomsae Performance, Scoring, and Theory Test. We wish them luck, and hopefully, Australia will have three more qualified International Referees very soon.
A number of Australians also took part in the World Taekwondo International Kyorugi Referee Course, including Simon Sandover, Kris Hartmann, and Donna Kris Hartmann, in which we also commend and recognised their achievements.
For any questions relating to the World Taekwondo International Poomsae Referee course and its content, please contact Ross Hartnett, Australian Taekwondo's National Poomsae Performance Director.
Australia delivered an impressive campaign at the 2026 Kukkiwon World Hanmadang Championships, winning two gold, two silver and two bronze medals against a field of more than 4,000 competitors from 61 countries.
Australian Taekwondo's National Poomsae Team delivered a standout campaign across three international events on the Gold Coast — the 2026 Australian Open G2, Oceania President's Cup G3 and Oceania Championships G4 — collecting a haul of gold and two Overall Team Trophy runner-up finishes. A record 14 Para Poomsae athletes also set new participation and medal benchmarks. With momentum building and depth emerging across the pathway, attention now turns to September's World Poomsae Championships in Chuncheon, South Korea.
As we reach the midpoint of 2026, I want to take a moment to reflect on what has been one of the most rewarding and significant quarters in recent memory […]
