On May 23 and 24, the 52nd ITF Qualifying International Umpire Course was held in Guatemala; a historic event for the region as it became the first course of its kind held in Central America and the Caribbean.
The event brought together 58 participants from Argentina, United States, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, establishing an important training and professional development opportunity for umpires, coaches, instructors, and ITF students in the region.
The course featured presentations by GM Abelardo Benzaquén, Chair of the ITF Umpire Committee, and GM Rubén Suárez, member of the same committee. They were assisted by Master Gustavo Naranjo from the United States, who oversaw the logistics for the SportData electronic system.
The venue chosen for this important event was Ciudad Cayalá, renowned for its prestige and for providing a first-class environment for international activities. The organization was led by Sbn Thelma Ayala, who spearheaded this project with the goal of bringing high-level international training opportunities for ITF Taekwon-Do to the Central American and Caribbean region.
Through a review of the official regulations and the activities carried out during the course, quality and unification of concepts were achieved, allowing for their practical application in international, national, and regional events.
During the sessions, theoretical and practical activities were developed, focusing on reviewing the official regulations and the latest approved and recently incorporated modifications, procedures for patterns competitions, sparring, pre-arranged sparring, power breaking, and special techniques, the roles of each umpire, signaling, and the use of the electronic scoring system through real-time simulations and by resolving and clarifying doubts about practical cases.
Certificates were awarded to each participant, friendships were strengthened, and everyone left the course very satisfied.
GM Abelardo Benzaquén
Chair of the ITF Umpire Committee
ITF at the TAFISA World Congress 2026
