Report of IUC 45 – Gorakhpur, India

The 45^th Qualifying International Umpire Course (IUC) was held on 14^th and 15^th April 2024, in Hotel Clarks Grand, Gorakhpur, India. It consisted of a 2-day period for a total of 12 hours. It was delivered in English.

There were around 70 participants from 3 countries: Nepal, Malaysia, and India. It is important to highlight the active support of higher level of Indian Official Sports and Government authorities, among them: the Vice Chancellor of DDU Gorakhpur University, Prof. Poonam Tandom; Prof. Vijay Chahal, President of India Taekwon-Do Federation; Dr. Sunita Singh, Vice President of Gorakhpur Taekwon-Do Association and Director of the Ample Convent School; Rajeev Singh Director of the Taekwon-Do Sports Academy of Uttar Pradesh, and Prof. Shiv Daran Das, an outstanding personality in the sciences and education fields, recognized in all of India.

The course was conducted by the Chair of the ITF Umpire Committee, Grand Master Abelardo Benzaquén (Argentina). During the two days of the international course, the participants had the opportunity to learn about the ITF Rules of Competition, in theoretical and practical mode, and all enjoyed a lot the “tournament mode”.

It is very important to highlight that the Vice Chancellor of DDU Gorakhpur University, Prof. Poonam Tandom announced that Gorakhpur University will be the first University in India to take ITF Taekwon-Do as an official teaching program and sports, starting in the next months.

The ITF Umpire Committee wants to express its gratitude to the Organizing Committee of the 45^th IUC, lead by Sbn Santosh Kumar Yadav, Secretary General of ITF India; Upendra Kumar Yadav, Vice President, Ramashankar Gond, Joint Secretary; Priyanka Singh and Aditya Pal. A special thank you belongs to Master Najmi Abdullah, President of Malaysian Taekwon-Do Federation, accompanied by Sharvin Gopal from Malaysia.

Congratulations to all participants and a very special recognition to the ITF Board of Directors for their continued support.

Grand Master Abelardo Benzaquén

Chair of the ITF Umpire Committee