The new Karate 1 season will start soon with the new year 2023 and registration for the first Series A event of the year is in fact already ongoing.
In our efforts for monitoring our events and introducing the necessary amendments, please be advised that the WKF Executive Committee has approved the following:
Inclusion of the U21 categories in the Karate 1 Youth League events
The aim of this proposal is to broaden opportunities to these age classes, allowing them to participate at the Youth League events would give them more opportunities.
With the inclusion of these categories, most Youth League events will have to start their competition one day earlier (on Thursday), although this will be announced separately for each event.
The limit for the number of competitors for Kata categories is increased from 96 to 128 athletes in the Youth League and Series A events
Increasing the limit of participants for Kata categories in the YL and SA events will balance out opportunities for Kata competitors, who have one single category.
The above measures will be implemented already for all events from 1st January 2023, and as a result, ongoing registration processes for them (Series A Athens) will adapt to these implementations already.
We are hereby sending you the updated bulletin and relevant information regarding the Venice Youth League from 9th to 11th December: VENICE 2022 Karate 1 – Youth League BULLETIN
The Female Kumite competition categories will be the ones currently in place as per the WKF Competition Rules:
Junior: -48kg, -53kg, -59kg, +59kg
Cadet: -47kg, -54kg, +54kg
U14: -42kg, -47kg, -52kg, +52kg
Athletes will thus be able to complete the 2022 season in the currently existing categories, before transferring to the new Female Kumite categories valid as of 1st January 2023. Considering this last event as a transitioning one, that will see the heavy weight categories split into two each, exceptionally the limit of athletes will be set at 128 for these categories only, namely: Female Kumite Junior +59kg, Cadet +54kg and U14 +52kg.
In line with the other Continental Federations, the EKF EC has approved the Coach Course Programme detailed in the attached document.
This program will consist of two annual courses to be held in each of the European Championships (Senior and Junior). The first course to be held will be the one corresponding to the next EKF Junior, Cadet & U21 Championships in Cyprus in 2023, where the requirement of having the relevant coach level will be first implemented for coaches that want to officiate at the said EKF event.
It will also be possible to homologate WKF coach licenses for the Kata/Kumite levels (not for accredited level) and, the process of homologating certifications will be already implemented now, allowing to do so before the start of the 2023 season.
The Executive Committee of the World Karate Federation met Wednesday to take pressing decisions on the ongoing progress of the sport around the world.
The growing relevance of events and the WKF’s intention to continue celebrating engaging, spectacular, and first-class competitions were on top of the agenda of the meeting via videoconference.
The WKF decision-making body agreed to re-allocate the Karate 1-Premier League event that was initially slated to be held in Moscow. The last Karate 1-Premier League event of the season will now be held in Los Angeles (United States) from October 7 to 9, on the same dates as initially scheduled.
Additionally, the WKF Executive Committee reviewed the proposed calendar of events for 2023, with the World Senior Championships in Budapest (Hungary) to be held from October 24 to 29, 2023 as the highlight of the year.
Regarding the upcoming World Championships, the Spanish Karate Federation was awarded the organisation of the 2024 World Senior Team Championships. The first edition of the newly created World Championships for Teams will be held in Pamplona (Spain) after the successful organisation of the Karate 1-Series A event in the Spanish northern city in January this year.
Following the approval of the WKF Congress in Dubai last year, the first stage of development of the WKF Strategic Plan was agreed upon. The WKF Strategic Plan outlines the new configuration of the WKF World Championships for the period 2022-2025 and highlights the growing sporting spirit of the event by splitting the tournament into individual and team competitions.
Moreover, the agenda of the WKF Congress to be held in Konya (Turkey) on the eve of the 2022 World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships was finalised, with the approved list of candidates for the elections of the Executive Committee and President of the organisation.
WKF President Antonio Espinós said:
“Karate is in continuous progress and the development of our sport has experienced tremendous growth over the last years, mostly due to the increasing impact of our events. With the new WKF Strategic Plan, we ensure that our World Championships grow even more in terms of competitive edge and spectacularity.
“I am convinced that with the decisions taken today by the Executive Committee, our events will have a greater influence on fans, athletes and sponsors.”
The WKF Rules & Ranking Commission works continuously on the necessary improvements on the rules and regulations, as well as on adequate alternatives to keep our sport developing throughout time. In this context, and based on the participation statistics that have been gathered in the last years at the WKF Youth League events, additionally to the information available from our World Championships for youth categories, the WKF Executive Committee has approved the proposal of the Commission to add new categories for the younger female athletes. Consequently, as of 1st January 2023 the new female categories for youth athletes to be reflected in the new version of the Competition Rules will be as follows: – Female U14: -42kg / -47kg / -52kg / +52kg – Female Cadet: -47kg / -54kg / -61kg / +61kg – Female Junior: -48kg / -53kg / -59kg / -66kg / +66kg
The World Championships in Konya will remain unaffected by these category changes. Nevertheless, as the introduction of new categories has also implication on some important continental and other level events for younger categories, a short transition period will be granted for the introduction of these categories. Accordingly, events such as the qualification and preparation events at a national level that will be taking place already in 2022 (such as the ones for the European Championships to be held in February 2023) may be held under these new categories already.
We trust that this initiative will be well received as a positive development for the female athletes on the sporting level, moreover also fostering gender balance in competition.
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There is one year to go until the next edition of the European Games in Poland (21 June – 2 July 2023), with the LOC working on all preparations for the event. Karate competition is planned to take place on 30 June and 1 July in the city of Krakow.
We will keep you updated with relevant information about this important event, but also invite you to regularly check the dedicated section on the WKF website: https://www.wkf.net/multisports-events-main/216
Since 2017, the optional use of karategis with the embroidered brands on the shoulders, in red or blue, has been authorized for Karate – 1 Events (Premier League, Series A and Youth League).
In 2020, it was approved the mandatory use of them for Karate – 1 Premier League events and optional use for all WKF events, including World Championships.
During these 6 years, the number of competitors who have chosen to use this type of karategi has significantly increased, making it easier for spectators to identify athletes, as well as greater visibility and showiness of the competition.
On the other hand, this greater brand exposure on “WKF Approved” karategi increase the possibilities of obtaining sponsors for both NFs and athletes.
Based on the above mentioned, the WKF Executive Committee approved on October 22, 2021, the mandatory use of “WKF Approved” karategis with embroidered brands on the shoulders, in RED and BLUE, in all WKF official events (World Championships and Karate 1 – Premier League, Series A and Youth League) from January 1, 2023.
From 1st January 2023 will be mandatory in all the WKF official events the use of “WKF approved” karategis with embroidered brands on the shoulders in RED and BLUE.
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Emilio Merayo 