Taekwondo tournament planning

Tools and guides for taekwondo tournament organisers. From quick match count estimates to planning guides for repechage and weight category management.

Competition format

World Taekwondo (WT) kyorugi competitions use single elimination with repechage. Athletes who were defeated by either finalist — at any stage of the competition — qualify for the repechage bracket and compete for a bronze medal. Two bronze medals are awarded at each weight category.

At WT major events (Olympics, World Championships, Grand Slam, Grand Prix), bouts consist of three rounds of two minutes each with one minute of rest between rounds. If the score is tied after regulation, a golden point round — sudden death — determines the winner.

Scoring is point-based using an electronic trunk protector and head sensor system. A kick to the trunk scores 2 points; a kick to the head scores 3 points. Spinning techniques score higher: a spinning kick to the trunk scores 4 points and a spinning kick to the head scores 5 points. A straight punch to the trunk scores 1 point. Penalty violations (gam-jeom) award 1 point to the opponent.

Tools

Bracket calculator

Enter competitor count and format to get match count, rounds, repechage matches and total event duration.

Open calculator

Rules summaries

Planning notes for common competition rulesets with official source links.

Browse rules

Guides

Repechage explained

How repechage works, how it differs from quarter-final repechage, and how it affects your match count.

How to run a tournament

Step-by-step from first planning decisions to final results, applicable to taekwondo and most combat sports.

Estimating tournament duration

How to calculate total time including changeovers, mats in parallel, and buffer for repechage phases.

Seeding tournament brackets

How to seed a draw correctly so top athletes are kept apart until the later rounds.

Weight category management

Running multiple categories simultaneously, staggered starts, weigh-in flow and cross-category conflicts. Pro guide.

Running large repechage events

Scheduling repechage bouts around the main bracket, mat assignment strategy and time buffers at scale. Pro guide.

Olympic weight categories

Eight categories at the Olympics — four per gender. World Championships use additional categories.

Men	Women
-58 kg	-49 kg
-68 kg	-57 kg
-80 kg	-67 kg
+80 kg	+67 kg

Match count estimates

Entries per category	System	Approx. matches
3–5	Round robin pool	3–10
8	Single elim + repechage	9–11
16	Single elim + repechage	19–21
32	Single elim + repechage	39–43

Use the calculator for exact numbers based on your format and mat count.

Ready to build your bracket?

SportsBracket supports single elimination with repechage — the standard World Taekwondo competition format. Free for events up to 16 participants — see pricing for larger events. Not sure which format to use? Read the bracket formats guide.

Create a bracket