The world championship was great. Saw some exceptional competitors and the hard
work
everyone put in. One of the things I think we need to improve is the Umpiring.
We only had
a small handful of referees 3 or 5 and a couple of them we not ITF certified
from the US. The
world Championship needs referees to make it successful and it needs quality
refereeing.
Not to say that the refereeing was bad but I would say there could have been
more
improvements. Our problem in the US is we haven't had an ITF referee course and
we don't
have many certified ITF Umpires.

Our success in World and international Championships will come from quality
umpiring and
our presence. I spoke with Master Néstor Galarraga and President Choi. They
would like the
US to host a course. I think we should have the course before we have the
Nationals so that
many of the referees could get some experience before heading to England. That
means
hosting a course some time between November - February.

What I am asking if everyone could reply on how many black belts would attend
from your
area we could have a better idea as to where to host the seminar. I would be
happy to host
the course unless someone else would like to take on the responsibilities. The
ITF has a
minimum of 50 black belts to attend the course. Its also 3 days. Let me know.
Thanks.

Gordon Jue, USA-7-1009
US-ITF Vice President