An update from British Taekwondo’s Development team.

Over the last 12 months British Taekwondo has made significant strides in establishing a Development department to expand our reach to support our clubs through education, diversification and inclusion whilst delivering on our strategy for growth.

The department has grown since January 2022 with the appointment of Dafydd Rowlands as Development Manager and James Docherty moving into the role of Development Officer in Manchester, supporting the growth of Taekwondo in the city. James has since left the post and a new officer will be appointed within the next month. We would like to thank James for his hard work and efforts at British Taekwondo during his time with us.

In addition to the Development Manager and Manchester Development Officer roles, British Taekwondo has appointed Annie Rogan as our first Disability Officer, Amy Shanahan as our first Club Products Officer and Neil Burton as our first Education Officer.

The team continue working to deliver on key strategic priorities, which include specific projects listed below. You can find contact details for all the team here.

For any queries or discussions around club development, or if you have any successes to share with us, please email development@britishtaekwondo.org

Education

From its launch in January 2022, the Assistant Coach Award has been accessed by over 200 club coaches, establishing their foundational knowledge of good coaching practices and principles. The qualification is for anyone thinking of becoming a coach, who is a minimum of a 2nd Kup red belt and 16 years old or above. The British Taekwondo’s Assistant Coach Award enables you to teach, whilst supervised, within a British Taekwondo club. For more information, please visit the information page about the Assistant Coach Award.

Building on the success of the Assistant Coach Award, we are currently developing our new 1st4Sport Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Taekwondo. The qualification will align British Taekwondo with the national standards for a level 2 coach and will be accredited by 1st4Sport. Details of the structure, delivery and launch of the qualification will be shared over the coming months. Keep your eyes peeled on our website and social media pages for more details.

Disability

From early summer 2022 we have been working with various groups to understand what is needed to support our coaches to deliver fully inclusive Taekwondo, to help open their clubs to participants with a wide range of impairment and disabilities.

There has been an initial focus on collecting insight specifically for visual impairment delivery, and delivery to participants with a learning or physical impairment. We are now working on developing a suite of resources in partnership with leading governing bodies that will be free to access for all British Taekwondo members through our website.

If you have any questions or have/are working with a participant(s) with a disability or impairment and would like to share your experiences, please contact our Disability Officer Annie Rogan via disability@britishtaekwondo.org

Products

As part of our strategic plan, we are looking at ways of supporting and diversifying the offer of Taekwondo through the development of programmes that target specific delivery. We are currently developing and have piloted a fun-based children’s programme that aims to introduce the fundamental movement skills and principles of Taekwondo to 3-6 year olds.

We are also working with the British Wheel of Yoga to develop a health & fitness programme that will provide clubs with a new offer for current and new members. The programme will be a hybrid of Taekwondo based movement, high intensity activity and a blend of mobility & mindfulness.

Both programmes will be available to all British Taekwondo clubs and will be supported by education and marketing resources, additional and ongoing CPD, support networks and tiered membership.

If you would like further information or if you would like to be involved in the pilot phase, please contact our products officer Amy Shanahan via products@britishtaekwondo.org

Further resources and products will also be launched soon as we look to support our clubs and members.

School Provisions

British Taekwondo are working to support the primary sector to ensure all pupils have access to fun and engaging physical activity to support physical and mental wellbeing. We are currently developing a progressive primary programme that embeds the fundamental principles and skills of Taekwondo in a pupil centered delivery framework.

The programme will guide beginners from their first kick, to their first grading, through educational and supportive resources which will include workbooks, session plans and videos. We are working with subject experts to ensure we deliver a high-quality product that is attractive and valued by schools and offers a new opportunity for delivery for our club coaches.

British Taekwondo are also working to re-instate Taekwondo within the GCSE and A-Level frameworks in England. Further discussions will take place with other home nations to ensure all members wishing to use Taekwondo as part of their education assessments are able to do so. Information will be shared with our members when updates are available.

Please contact development@britishtaekwondo.org for more information.

Club Standards / Club Recognition

To ensure that all our clubs are supported to operate safely, we will be introducing a Club Standards checklist.

The Club Standards will align all British Taekwondo clubs with other Sport National Governing Body Governance Standards and will be supported by CIMSPA (Chartered institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity).

Once implemented, all clubs will be required to meet a minimum level of compliance (coach qualifications, insurance, DBS, safeguarding, welfare and health & safety). We will also be introducing a tiered recognition programme within the Club Standards to champion clubs who are demonstrating good practice and governance (Gold, Silver and Bronze). Further details will be shared in the coming months.

Alongside our Club Standards, we will be looking to recognise the great work that is going on with our network of clubs, coaches and members. We are currently working on developing a framework for evaluating club performance (to include membership numbers, competitive success and community contribution) and a reward/recognition package that is attractive to our community. This will include expanding our end of year awards to recognise the work and contribution clubs, coaches and members have made over a 12-month period to Taekwondo and/or their community through Taekwondo.

If you have any questions, or would like to get involved in development activities at British Taekwondo please contact the team via development@britishtaekwondo.org