| Mr. Kamaladdin Heydarov (left), president of the Azerbaijan Taekwondo Federation and vice president of the World Taekwondo Federation, exchanges documents with WTF Secretary General Jin Suk Yang in a ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan on Feb. 17, 2009. The two signed a host city agreement on the 2009 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships and the 1st WTF Para-Taekwondo Championships, both to be held in June 2009 in Baku. |
Preparations are going smoothly for the 2009 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships and the 1st WTF Para-Taekwondo Championships, both to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in June 2009.
A WTF inspection team, led by WTF Secretary General Jin Suk Yang, paid a site inspection visit to Baku on Feb. 15-17.
On Feb. 17, WTF Secretary General Yang and Mr. Kamaladdin Heydarov, president of the Azerbaijan Taekwondo Federation and vice president of the World Taekwondo Federation, inked the host city agreement, which is a document identifying roles and responsibilities of the both parties for the organization of the 2009 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships and the 1st WTF Para-Taekwondo Championships.
The 1st WTF Para-Taekwondo Championships is scheduled to take place on June 10, shortly followed by the 2009 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships on June 11-14.
Prior to the signing of the host city agreement, the WTF inspection team visited the venue, headquarters hotel, team hotels and various other facilities to be used for the championships.
The venue was used for the European Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and also for the European Junior Taekwondo Championships. The venue is now under renovation for better serving as the facilities for the upcoming World Cup Team Championships and the WTF Para-Taekwondo Championships.
The Azerbaijan Taekwondo Federation committed itself to providing free accommodation of room and board for all the athletes participating in the 1st WTF Para-Taekwondo Championships in an effort to promote the WTF Para-Taekwondo Championships throughout the taekwondo family.
A great interest and support of the Azerbaijan government for the sport activities of less-privileged people was also expressed by Mr. Azad Rahimov, minister of youth and sport of Azerbaijan, during the meeting held one day prior to the signing of the host city agreement.
Minister Rahimov said in his welcoming speech that Azerbaijan opened a training center for Paralympic sports, which is a significant step forward to help and encourage more less-privileged people to join sport activities. The minister was also committed to continuing the effort to make the city of Baku to serve as the cultural links for Europe and Asia through the promotion of the sports.
A total of 24 teams per male and female division have been invited to the 2009 World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships in accordance with the standing procedure, and each invited team should submit the preliminary entry to the WTF by no later than March 8, 2009.
