"The World Taekwondo Federation will receive more TV rights revenues for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, as taekwondo has been promoted from Category E to D. The promotion was announced during the General Assembly of the ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) at the Shangri-la Hotel in Beijing, China, on April 24, 2007. The ASOIF General Assembly approved its Council proposal of promoting the World Taekwondo Federation and the International Triathlon Union from Group E to Group D for their contribution to the overall Games program. Taekwondo and triathlon made their respective debuts as the official Olympic sports at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Thus, the number of Summer Olympic sports in Category D increased from the previous 14 to 16. Sports in Group D are badminton, baseball, boxing, canoe, fencing, judo, wrestling, modern pentathlon, softball, table tennis, shooting, archery, sailing, weightlifting, taekwondo and triathlon. Athletics is the only sport in Group A. Group B is composed of basketball, cycling, football, gymnastics, swimming, tennis and volleyball, while Group C consists of equestrian, handball, hockey and rowing. The IOC’s initial categorization and subsequent amendments have resulted in the International Federations being divided into five groups, all of which have been allocated different amounts distributed equally within each group. Additions to the Games program have been handled according to the principle that new sports on the program of the Summer Olympic Games should first be added to the 5th Group (Group E), but with the intention that those IFs should move up after a period of contribution to the overall Games program. The ASOIF decided to retain Group E for new sports entering the official program for the 2016 Olympic Games."
if i remember it well, the final and semi final fights were the last time on eurosport. also fights from the world champs.
I know in the last olympics, I had to record the little bit of TKD and watch it later because it came on at something like 3 am...I have tivo so that's cool, but just have more than and hours worth without it being interrupted to go to the breast stroke competition. Brian
i know what you mean. hopefully there will be some more coverage, because the WTF has invested more in marketing and such.
Or the other way around. Have the volleyball on video for repeated viewings In all seriousness though, that's a good move. It's never going to be as popular as many of the other events, but some more TV time will satisfy the fans such as us.
To be honest, I'm not entirely surprised it's so low on the list. While I'd much rather watch TKD than table tennis or whatever, the matches aren't exactly enthralling. A couple of minutes standing still and one kick that's so fast and powerful that if you turn away for half a second to pick up your drink you've missed it.
i'm sure there will be more coverage, because there is already more coverage for the world champs. i started a new thread so have a look.
