International Taekwon‑Do Federation

The International Taekwon‑Do Federation (ITF), headquartered in Vienna, Austria, today announced the launch of its Elo-Based iSCORE POWER INDEX, a pioneering official rating system designed to evaluate and rank performances across all five ITF disciplines.

Developed in strict adherence to the articles of the ITF Regulation on ITF DB with the Integrated Online Platform, the new system leverages the Elo-Based iSCORE POWER INDEX algorithm to offer a uniform and comparable method of recording individual results across patterns, sparring, special techniques, power breaking, and self-defense routines.

This revolutionary approach ensures a comprehensive measure of a competitor's skill and success, promoting a holistic view of martial arts mastery and fosters a spirit of excellence and fair competition that transcends borders.

Ensuring that only competitions held through our Integrated Event Management System are considered, guarantees the highest standards of fairness and integrity.

The introduction of this system follows an extensive analysis of data from 293 national and international tournaments held worldwide over the last 36 months. This comprehensive approach ensures that ratings are calculated on a transparent and equitable basis, considering the quality of events, the number of competitors, and the overall level of competition, among other criteria.

This stratification ensures that athletes' ratings reflect not just their individual accomplishments but also the calibre of the events they participate in.

Tournament Tier System and Criteria

The system categorizes all international and national tournaments into three tiers based on a rigorous set of criteria, from the prestigious ITF Gold Class events, such as the ITF Taekwon‑Do World Championships, to the ITF Bronze Class, encompassing a broad spectrum of competitions:

ITF Gold Class (Rating: >20)

  - ITF Taekwon‑Do World Championships, Astana, Kazakhstan (Rating: 42)

  - ITF Taekwon‑Do World Cup Games, Santiago del Estero, Argentina (Rating: 34)

  - ITF Taekwon‑Do Open Cup of CIS, Minsk, Belarus (Rating: 33)

  - European ITF Taekwon‑Do Championships, Jesolo, Italy (Rating: 31)

  - World King of Taekwon‑Do Open Tournament, Thessaloniki, Greece (Rating: 30)

  - Bulgaria Open ITF Taekwon‑Do Tournament, Plovdiv, Bulgaria (Rating: 26)

  - Central Asian ITF Taekwon‑Do Championships, Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Rating: 25)

ITF Silver Class (Rating: 10-20)

  - ITF Taekwon‑Do Grand Prix Srpski Soko, Zvornik, Bosnia&Herzegovina (Rating: 18)

  - Serbia Open ITF Taekwon‑Do Championship, Novi Sad, Serbia (Rating: 17)

  - ITF Taekwon‑Do Abai Open Cup, Semey, Kazakhstan (Rating: 16)

  - Sofia Open - Gen. Choi Hong Hi Memorial Cup, Sofia, Bulgaria (Rating: 16)

  - Italian Open ITF Taekwon‑Do Championship, Barletta, Italy (Rating: 12)

  - OHRID OPEN ITF Taekwon‑Do Tournament, Ohrid, North Macedonia (Rating: 12)

  - BaltCup International Taekwon‑Do Tournament, Tallinn, Estonia (Rating: 11)

ITF Bronze Class (Rating: <10)

  - All other international tournaments.

A tiered classification for tournaments is based on a comprehensive set of criteria:

Tournament Criteria

- Level of competition (e.g., World Championships, Continental Championships)

- Number of registered competitors

- Overall rating of competitors

- Number of competition squares “rings”

- Number of competition days

- Number of umpires officiating and their class

- Presence of all 5 ITF Taekwon‑Do disciplines

- Use of video replays

- Monetary rewards for winners

Individual Achievement Criteria

- Age group of competitors

- Grades/degrees of opponents

- Ratings of opponents

- Tournament placements and titles

- The added value of tournament rating for placements and titles

- Priority given to points collected in Patterns (Tul) in case of even overall rating results

- Decay process for inactive athletes

Starting from this day, the International Taekwon‑Do Federation (ITF) will implement a new schedule for updating and publishing member ratings, occurring every four months. This structured approach ensures that our members' achievements and progress are regularly recognized and rewarded.

As the year concludes, those who have distinguished themselves by ranking at the top will be eligible to compete in the prestigious ITF President’s Grand Prix. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to vie for various awards from the ITF, leading organizers of top-tier open international tournaments, and the sponsors.