Welcome to the British Student Taekwondo Federation!

This guide explains the different types of memberships available, lists entry fees and answers many frequently asked questions.

Join the largest student martial arts organisation in the UK – working exclusively to promote and enhance university taekwondo, the British Student Taekwondo Federation (BSTF) is a national student sport federation and registered charity.

A member focused charity – founded in 1986, we are governed by an elected board of trustees and project a national student voice for more than 70 active university taekwondo clubs of all disciplines (and welcome individual practitioners from institutions without taekwondo clubs as well!)

We deliver the biggest and best events – gain access to university taekwondo events, including: the Student National Taekwondo Championships Series, Training Seminars, S&C for Taekwondo Courses, Umpire Training Modules, Support Services, Equipment Hire, and more.

All clubs, all disciplines, all grades, all divisions – take part in the multi-discipline Student National Taekwondo Championships Series, the UK’s largest university martial arts events, in your chosen discipline(s): ITF rules sparring, WT rules sparring, Chang-Hon patterns, Kukkiwon patterns and Freestyle patterns.

Professional events at student rates – current Student-athlete Pass holders get major discounts on open training camps, online training courses and other events where indicated.

Free umpire courses for university club members – students and alumni understand the value of sharing knowledge and upskilling their teams; we fully subsidise L4 online courses and exams, and L3 centre referee courses and certification. All trainee umpire courses and materials are provided for free by the BSTF to all university club member account holders, students and alumni (saving a combined cost of >£100).

Advocacy and advice for all university clubs and committees – we provide advice and advocacy for all university taekwondo clubs and their members, publish various online resources for club committees, and recognise high performing club committees through the annual Club of the Year Award.

Online platforms and scalable technologies – our website is packed competition information and features for members, including: online event registration and payment portals, umpire registration portals, team sheets for institution administrators and club captains, member only areas including competition results, the events calendar, online account management, on demand online umpire exams, members’ only equipment shop, and much more.

All event participants are covered by our bespoke insurance – no third party policies are required, all BSTF account holders are covered under the charity’s bespoke martial arts member to member and public liability insurance when attending BSTF tournaments and other events, ensuring every university taekwondo practitioner from every institution may safely compete with one another.

Our online shop lets you buy at wholesale prices – save huge amounts on taekwondo training equipment and uniforms, available exclusively to our account holders, thanks to our online shop partnership you have the option to buy your club’s taekwondo uniforms and equipment at wholesale prices.

Annual Membership Type

Fee

Student-athlete Class-A

For A-class competitors

£26.36 /yr
(before 01 Oct)

Includes annual BSTF competition insurance 

Student-athlete Class-B

For B-class competitors

£19.96/yr
(before 01 Oct)

Includes annual BSTF competition insurance 

Student-athlete Class-C

For C-class competitors

£15.96 /yr
(before 01 Oct)

Includes annual BSTF competition insurance 

General

Coach Assistant/ L4, L3 trainee umpire

£14.95 /yr

Includes annual BSTF competition insurance 

Club Coach

Contracted coach(es)

£1.95 /yr

Includes annual BSTF competition insurance 

Umpire

L2, L1 referee/ judge only

£1.95 /yr

Includes annual BSTF competition insurance 

University Staff

Institution administrator only
For university taekwondo club administration

£0

Free

Club Committee Admin Account

1 per club, for club committee only
Club management committee administration

£0

Free

Affiliate

Non-participant

£0

Free

Alumni-athlete Class-A

Guest athlete, see eligibility rules and T&Cs

£39.95 /yr

Includes annual BSTF competition insurance 

Passes are valid for the whole academic year, from the 1st of October to the following 30th of September, inclusive. Student-athletes must obtain a membership pass which matches their level of competition entry (A, B or C-class). When a student-athlete completes a grading and changes class they must login and upgrade their pass (C->B or B->A), using the “upgrade” button on the Account tab, completing this before submitting their next event entry (note, you are only charged the difference in price between the levels when upgrading). BSTF Competition Insurance is automatically provided to all paid membership pass level holders when attending BSTF events. BSTF Membership T&Cs apply.

BSTF Kup Gradings 2025-26

Fee

10th grading to 9th Kup

£12.50

9th grading to 8th Kup

£13.75

8th grading to 7th Kup

£15.25

7th grading to 6th Kup

£17.00

6th grading to 5th Kup

£19.00

5th grading to 4th Kup

£21.25

4th grading to 3rd Kup

£23.75

3rd grading to 2nd Kup

£26.50

2nd grading to 1st Kup

£29.50

Gradings are available in both the Chang-hon (ITF rules) or Kukkiwon (WT rules) syllabus, separately. Clubs may run their Chang-hon and Kukkiwon syllabus Gradings in parallel, but the Grading content will be different.

BSTF Kup Gradings are led by the club’s contracted coach strictly according to BSTF Grading procedures within your club. Grading videos must be uploaded for moderation by BSTF’s senior grading examiners who accredit all BSTF gradings. Your Grading fees include one free re-test in the event of a first fail testing for that grade.

BSTF gradings may be booked by the Institution Administrators or Club Committee account users via the Gradings application page.

 

Championships Series Fees 2025-26

Single Elimination Competition Fees

Fee

Sparring (individual)

WT rules sparring; ITF rules sparring

£33.45

Patterns (individual)

Kukkiwon patterns; Freestyle patterns; Chang-Hon patterns

£27.95

Patterns (pairs)

Kukkiwon patterns; Chang-Hon patterns

£14.95

Patterns (teams)

Kukkiwon patterns; Chang-Hon patterns

£9.95

Self-defence Routine (teams)

Chang-Hon discipline

£14.95

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For all events, fees displayed per student-athlete, per event; see entry rules page for full details

For all events, a stage 2 (s2) final entry window may be opened for disciplines which are not fully subscribed; and S2 entry window is not guaranteed; fees are +20% higher during s2 entry windows. It is recommended to enter well before the S1 entry deadline where possible to do so.

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How do I complete pre-accreditation?

Prior to an event’s entry closing date you must have completed the following Pre-accreditation steps (you will only need to complete these steps for your first event entry, since no further action is required except when you need to replace a form of ID that has expired/ update records):

  • Log in to the Manage Your Account page and upload a passport style profile picture in the Profile Tab (required for all participants, including: Student-athletes, Umpires, Trainee Umpires, Club coaches and coach assistants)
  • Log in to the Manage Your Account page and upload valid photo ID in the CompetitionPreAccreditation Tab (required for all non student-athlete participants, including: Umpires, Trainee Umpires, Club coaches and coach assistants)
  • Log in to the Manage Your Account page and upload a copy of your student ID card in the CompetitionPreAccreditation Tab (required for Student-athlete competitors only)
  • Log in to the Manage Your Account page and update your referee/ judge certification in the UmpireExternalCertifications Tab (required for Umpires L2+ with external certification only)

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Do I need a General membership or a Student-athlete membership to take part in BSTF Championships?

All BSTF Championships competitors must have a Student-athlete membership and this must be of the correct grade class; either a Student-athlete: (Class-C), (Class-B) or (Class-A) membership to enter the C, B or A class divisions respectively. Student-athletes you must update your account level as soon as you grade to a higher class division. Your entry grade (i.e., class division) is determined by your membership level at the time of entry and cannot be amended in any other way. Please login and upgrade your membership type (C->B or B->A), using the “upgrade” button on the Account tab, completing this before submitting your next event entry.

Trainee umpires and coach assistants require a (paid) General membership or (paid) Student-athlete memberships.

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When do Memberships expire?

Memberships are valid for the whole academic year in which they are first subscribed or renewed, from the 1st of October to the following 30th of September, inclusive.

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If I subscribe to a (free) Affiliate membership can I upgrade it to a (paid) Student-athlete membership later?

Yes, log-in to the Manage Your Account page and you may upgrade anytime: go to the Account Tab then scroll down to the “Renew, Upgrade or Update Billing” button.

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I am an Institution Administrator or Club Committee member: is it possible to review a list of my team members?

Yes, Institution Administrators and Club Committee members only can review their team’s registered members anytime, simply log-in to your account and select the Team tab. Only special Club Committee accounts and activated Institution Administrator accounts have access to the registered team members list. Please contact us if you wish to to request authorisation for an existing account.

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Which membership types include BSTF Competition Insurance?

All Athlete, General, Club Coach and Umpire membership types include competition insurance coverage for BSTF events.

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How do I enter training camps, umpire courses and other (non-competition) events?

Via BSTF Event Entry Portal, including online tournaments, individual training camps, S&C courses, corner judges courses, and other individual events. To enter an event simply complete your individual/ team registration before the event’s entry deadline via the online Event Entry Portal. If the event appears on the website’s main calendar but is not yet listed the event registration portal then registration is not yet open for that event – please check back later 🙂

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I am an Institution Administrator or Club Captain: may I upgrade multiple (free) Affiliate memberships to (paid) Student-athlete memberships all at once for my team members i.e., a bulk Student-athlete membership purchase?

Yes, Institution Administrators and Club Captains can upgrade all of their team members’ accounts from Affiliate membership (free) accounts to General membership & Student-athlete membership (paid) accounts in a few clicks. Go to the the Institution Administrator Portal or Club Committee Portal respectively and input the BSTF ID codes of the accounts you wish to upgrade (each student-athlete must have an existing (free) Affiliate membership in order to upgrade).

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If I subscribe to a Student-athlete C-class membership may I upgrade it to an Student-athlete B-class membership later in the year?

Yes, simply log-in to the Manage Your Account page and you may upgrade anytime; go to the Account Tab then scroll down to the “Renew, Upgrade or Update Billing” button. Student-athletes you must update your account level as soon as you grade to a higher class division. Your entry grade (i.e., class division) is determined by your membership level at the time of entry and cannot be amended in any other way. Please login and upgrade your membership level (C->B or B->A), using the “upgrade” button on the Account tab, completing this before submitting your next event entry.

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I am an Umpire (a national/ international L2 / L1 umpire (referee and or pattern judge); what type of account should I create?

Please go to the Create Your Account page and select Master Pass (Umpire). Once your account has been approved by a BSTF admin (typically 5 working days) please visit the Umpire’s Portal to review the event registration page and other tools available to you.

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I am an Institution Administrator managing my team’s entries: what type of account should I create?

Please go to the Create Your Account page and select Staff Pass (University Staff). Once your account has been approved by a BSTF admin (typically within 2 working days) please visit the Institution Administrator Portal to review the team members tab and other tools available to you.

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May I edit my own account details once I have an account without having to send emails via my team captain or university staff?

Yes, simply log-in to your account and edit your details directly.

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How may I end my membership, close my account, and have my personal data, results, rankings and certificates expunged?

See the close account guide.

Find this menu by logging in to Manage Your Account.

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What are BSTF’s membership terms and conditions?

Please see the legal notices page.

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I have a different question!

Please contact us and we’ll be happy to help 🙂

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