Abstract:

The main aim and focus of this work is to examine decision making technologies that have been introduced into the sport of Taekwondo to provide avenues to ensure the fairness and transparency of decisions and were used at the 2012 Olympic Games. The sport was examined through discussion groups and interviews with elite level international referees (n=31). The findings present that the technologies did provide a mechanism to ensure the correctness of decisions. The success of the event was contributed to by the diligent use and application of technologies being used as an effective aid to refereeing. Subsequently these technologies have been a major contributor to the provision of a fairer platform for competition, led to improved player performance and provided more attractive competition. The findings provide a basis for further studies and possible trials with additional technologies to further assist the referee in providing fair competition and to improve the quality of referees’ decision making.