Jamaica's Xavier Hoon (second left, front row) sits amid a large contingent of judges, mainly Europeans, during an umpires meeting ahead of the 15th International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) World Championship under way in Quebec, Canada. - Contributed

JAMAICA'S 20-MAN delegation to the 15th International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) World Championship represents a fraction of the more than 2,000 athletes and officials gathered for the most practised martial art in the world. With only 10 athletes, the task at hand for Jamaica is overwhelming, considering teams such as hosts Canada are fielding almost 100 participants and others such as New Zealand have about 80 contestants.

More so, Jamaica's four judges are outnumbered by almost 400 of their European counterparts and others from the Pan-Am, Pacific and Asian regions.

This scenario makes it difficult for small countries such as Jamaica and Caribbean sister nation Trinidad and Tobago, represented by one official, to wield significant influence in the judging process.

At ITF world tournaments, bouts are scored by five judges with Europeans dominating the pool due to the overwhelming size of their contingents. Therefore, rings are at times marshalled mainly by Euro-peans judging their own.

Jamaica's Tashana Grannum, who exited first round patterns on the first day of competition, had her event presided over by a panel comprising one Caribbean judge to three Europeans.

This imbalance has created controversy in the past, especially last year when Jamaica travelled to the ITF World Cup in Spain where the entire judging panel was rearranged after the Caribbean men defeated world team champions Poland.

Equal representation

In contrast, Jamaica's Combined Martial Arts Team, which also competes against national ITF teams, refuses to face opponents without equal representation in judging and travels at all times with two of four required judges.

This has paid off for the Combined Team as they have defeated opponents stretching from the Caribbean to as far as Asia.

Taekwon-Do officials in countries such as Jamaica hope the rising popularity of the sport will help to turn the tables in favour of their athletes.

State sponsorship, which the Europeans and Asians have as a major advantage, appears to be the only solution for smaller countries to develop taekwon-do in their respective regions.

Considering the Combined Team's achievements, Taekwon-Do and martial arts in Jamaica, which receives no assistance from the state but teems with talent, could bloom into a major sport if its practitioners are supported nationally.

- A.W.