The purpose of athlete categorisation is to identify athletes who have the potential to achieve Olympic and Paralympic success and support the aims of the Combat Institute of Australia's high-performance program. The National Categorisation Framework consists of five levels across the Podium Pathway.
The Athlete Categorisation Criteria for Taekwondo aligns, as is required, with these five Podium Pathway categories.
While there is no longer an International Category as part of the National Categorisation Framework, there is a Taekwondo specific Associate category to recognise athletes that don't currently meet the performance requirements for the Podium Pathway but are internationally experienced athletes that are selected for Australia's National Team to compete at a BME and/or who add significant value to the DTE.
Athlete categorisation is conducted annually in the final quarter of each calendar year and will take effect from January the following year. Athletes categorised in the Podium Pathway will receive a level of investment to support targeted camps and competitions from The Australian Institute of Sport and the Victorian Institute of Sport.