A British Taekwondo member has newly qualified as an International Combat Sport Referee.

Congratulations to Jethro Cooke for successfully passing the World Taekwondo Kyorugi International Referee course in Paris, France.

Jethro, a member of Horizon Taekwondo Academy, started Taekwondo at the age of 14 at his local club in Cullingworth, Bradford. At the age of 18 having had many stints competing in the ring in sparring he decided to give refereeing a go. When he attended Bath University he was able to continue his training and development and also keep up with his refereeing up and down the country.

He attended the IR course in France in November 2022 and recently received confirmation he passed.

Passing his 4th Dan black belt a few years ago made Jethro technically eligible for the IR course, but due for work commitments and covid restrictions he wasn’t able to attend the IR courses until last year.

Paul Timms, Chair of the Sport Referee Department said “The IR qualification opens up new avenues as a referee – meaning Jethro can now officiate at G-Class events and be seen by referee evaluators. This could mean one day he moves up the ladder and might officiate at the Olympic Games!”

Everyone at British Taekwondo would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Jethro on his outstanding achievement and wish him all the best in his future endeavours as an International Kyorugi referee. His success is a great inspiration for all Taekwondo practitioners and referees, and we look forward to seeing him in action at the highest level of competition.

Find out more about Combat Sport Officials and how you can get involved here.