2012 Olympic Games Decision Making Technologies for Taekwondo Competition

Abstract

Leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games the demands for transparency and correctness in referee decision making in the sport of taekwondo increased dramatically to the extent where differing technologies were implemented for the first time at the Olympic level in London. This post Olympic research examines the impacts of those technologies on one sector of the sport’s stakeholders – referees. The study was conducted through discussion groups and interviews with elite level international referees (n=31). The findings present that via the diligent use and application of the technologies, provided mechanisms to greatly improve the correctness of decisions by being an effective aid to the referee’s decision making process, which contributed to the success of the event. Further it can be seen that with the implementation and use of these technologies, competition can now be provided on a fairer platform, in turn leading to a greater improvement in player performance and providing a more attractive competition. These findings provide a platform for further studies including trials utilizing more advanced technologies to further increase the transparency and correctness of referee decision making.