The roles of referee event coordinator, referee education coordinator and referee evaluation coordinator have all been created at the governing body.

According to USA Taekwondo, the positions are intended to "overhaul and revamp the areas of education, evaluation and events".

"The new positions will be responsible for development and delivery of programmes in much more specific areas than has been attempted before, and we believe this will increase the pace of change significantly within the referee programme, leading to a much more robust, successful and growing group of officials," a statement said.

Jeanna Salgado, the event director at USA Taekwondo, said referees deserved the chance to be "the best they can be".

"In order to deliver that we sought input and suggestions from many great thinkers within the referee community, and believe we came up with a structure that will succeed in growing the number of high quality referees in the United States dramatically - which will lead to even better USA Taekwondo events and ensure athletes competing in US competitions will receive the best officiating in the world," she said.

"This is a big change, and we understand that, but we are excited by the prospects for the future. 

"This is just the beginning, and the successful applicants will work with USA Taekwondo and the referee leadership to shape and deliver a whole new programme. 

"Providing opportunities for referees to specialise and bring their expertise to a well-defined area vastly broadens the scope and number of people who will influence and improve our referee performance and pipeline through education, evaluation and much needed recruitment of quality new referees into the programme."

Applications for the roles close on May 25.

Full details on the three positions can be found here.