Four international referees from Singapore – Steven Soh, Lee Thiam Poh, Lee Thiam Huat and Lim Teong Chin – attended the 63rd International Kyorugi Referee Refresher Course held from 8 to 10 April 2009 in Suzhou, China.
Among other things, the course covered the latest changes in the competition rules. There were also agility and footwork training relevant to referee performance, scoring simulation and DVD review and analysis.
At the end of the course, the four international referees discussed about the feasibility of implementing some of the new rules which could be further modified in the near future. After all, the course conductors were not too sure or had no answers to some of the questions raised by the participants.
It was generally felt that the WTF was rushing into implementing the new rules although they were not fully prepared to do so. A case in point is the new scoring criteria where 3 points are awarded for head kick, two for turning kick and one for direct kick or punch. There was no satisfactory answer as to how this could be implemented using the existing scoring system.
What’s more, the notes were not fully updated!
For a number of questions, the common answers were: “We are still considering it and will let you know by mail; we will discuss and let you know tomorrow (but tomorrow did not come) and we are suggesting to you to do this and that.” In short, there is no answer.
Nevertheless, it was decided by the STF Board of Referees to implement only those rules which had been assessed as ‘stable’.
Members will be informed of the changes through the various STF continuing education programmes.
For the Kyorugi Referee Course starting on 18 April 2009, the new rules will be incorporated. The Kyorugi Referee Refresher Course has been scheduled to be held on 10 May 2009.