WADA declares the International Taekwon-Do Federation non-compliant with World Anti-Doping Code

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announces that the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is now officially non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code).

[Please note that ITF is not the World Taekwondo Federation (World Taekwondo), which is the Olympic Federation for the sport of Taekwondo. ITF is a Signatory to the Code but is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF)[1].]

As communicated on 23 September 2019, following its meeting in Tokyo, Japan, WADA’s Executive Committee (ExCo), agreed to follow the recommendation of the Agency’s independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC) to assert ITF as non-compliant with the Code due to ITF’s failure to report to WADA on compliance by completing and submitting its Code Compliance Questionnaire (CCQ).

Under Article 10.3.1 of the International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories (ISCCS), ITF had 21 days following the date of receipt of the formal notice of non-compliance (23 September 2019) to dispute WADA’s assertion of non-compliance, as well as the proposed consequences and/or the reinstatement conditions proposed by the Agency.

As ITF did not dispute WADA’s assertion of non-compliance, nor the consequences of non-compliance and/or the reinstatement conditions proposed by WADA within 21 days from the date of the formal notice, the assertion of non-compliance is deemed admitted. Furthermore, the consequences of non-compliance and the reinstatement conditions proposed by WADA in the formal notice are deemed accepted, and the formal notice is now a final decision.

As decided by WADA’s ExCo, the consequences applied to the present case in accordance with Article 11 and Annex B.3.1 of the ISCCS are the following:

(a) ITF will lose its WADA Privileges until Reinstatement (see ISCCS Art B.3.1(a)), i.e.:

• In accordance with the relevant provisions of WADA’s Statutes, ITF’s Representatives shall be ineligible to hold any WADA office or any position as a member of any WADA board or committee or other body (including but not limited to membership of WADA’s Foundation Board, the Executive Committee, any Standing Committee, and any other committee).
• ITF shall be ineligible to host any event hosted or organized or co-hosted or co-organized by WADA.
• ITF’s Representatives shall be ineligible to participate in any WADA Independent Observer Program or WADA Outreach program or other WADA activities.
• ITF shall not receive any WADA funding (either directly or indirectly) relating to the development of specific activities or participation in specific programs.

(b) ITF’s Representatives shall be ineligible to sit as members of the boards or committees or other bodies of any Signatory (or its members) or association of Signatories for a period of one year or until ITF is reinstated (whichever is longer) (see ISCCS Art B.3.1 (c)).

(c) ITF’s Representatives, as well as the Athletes and Athlete Support Personnel participating in its sport (or in one or more disciplines of that sport) will be excluded from participation in or attendance at (…) any multisport Event for the next edition of that Event (summer or winter, where relevant) or until Reinstatement (whichever is longer) (see ISCCS Art B.3.1 (e)).

WADA continues to provide guidance and support to ITF to solve its non-conformity.

[1] There are currently three Code Signatory International Federations for the sport of Taekwon-Do – the World Taekwondo Federation (World Taekwondo) and two other International Federations called “International Taekwon-do Federation”. The non-compliant International Federation is the ITF based in Austria. The two International Federations called “International Taekwon-do Federation” became Signatories to the Code prior to the adoption by WADA’s Executive Committee of a policy setting the conditions to be fulfilled by new organizations that wish to become Signatories.