Tae Kwon Do Life Magazine September 2017 | Page 7

NEWS FROM THE Wor ld Taekwondo Reveals New Br and and Logo at Wor ld Taekwondo Championships Som e of t h e New Br an ded Logos M UJU, Kor ea (Ju n e 23, 2017) ? Wor ld Taekw ondo w as officially launched as its new br and and logo w er e r evealed at the Gener al Assem bly that w as held a day befor e the fir st day of the 23r d Wor ld Taekw ondo Cham pionships in M uju, Kor ea. Wor ld Taekw ondo r eplaces the Wor ld Taekw ondo Feder ation as the nam e of the global feder ation and r eflects its com m itm ent to evolving and adapting to r em ain r elevant w ith today?s m oder n audiences. Wor ld Taekw ondo encapsulates the feder ation?s values of inclusiveness, univer sality and excellence w hile r eiter ating its position as the undisputed leader of the global taekw ondo m ovem ent. The new Wor ld Taekw ondo logo, r etains the ?kicking athlete? design that w as the ?T? in the ?W TF? as a link to the feder ation?s gr eat her itage. The ?kicking athlete? is color ed in the five colour s of the Olym pic r ings against a w hite backgr ound to signify the feder ation?s position as the leader of Olym pic taekw ondo and to sym bolise the globality of the spor t. Wor ld Taekw ondo Pr esident said: ?Today is an important moment in the history of our great federation. Since 1973, we have been known as the World Taekwondo Federation. 7 Over the following 44 years we have grown taekwondo into the global sport it is today with 208 member national federations worldwide; we have led taekwondo to the Olympic Games and in 2020 will have the honour of seeing taekwondo at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games; and we have reinforced our federation?s positon as a global leader in taking taekwondo beyond sport and into the field of humanitarianism." ?But we know that in such a competitive world, we must always evolve and adapt to stay relevant and appeal to young and modern audiences. In the digital age, the acronym of our federation has developed negative connotations unrelated to our organization and so it was im portant that we rebranded to better engage with our fans. World Taekwondo is distinctive and simple to understand and reinforces the global nature of our sport. Our vison is taekwondo for all and as World Taekwondo we are confident we can build on our success to date and achieve that vision.? After its official r ollout at the 23r d Wor ld Taekw ondo Cham pionships in M uju in 2017, the new br and w ill be incor por ated in all official com m unications, m ar keting m ater ials and br anded m er chandise.