In Glasgow, on 4 November, on the eve of the opening of the tatami, the Commonwealth Karate Federation first settled a matter of leadership. Representatives of 23 national federations, from five continents, met in congress to elect the organisation’s leadership for the next four years. World Karate Federation president Antonio Espinós attended, accompanied by WKF General Treasurer Michael Dinsdale. Following the elections, Craig Vokey, already a member of the WKF Executive Committee, was elected president of the CKF for a four-year term. The congress was held on the eve of a two-part edition: the Elite events for national teams, on 5 and 6 November at the Glasgow International Arena, then the club championships on 7 and 8 November.

A board from five continents

The new executive board has Liam (Billy) Brennan (England) as first vice-president and Victor Edward Amara (Sierra Leone) as second vice-president. Bharat Sharma (India) becomes general secretary, Youdish Bhunjun (Mauritius) treasurer. Four regional vice-presidents complete the board: Cameron King (Barbados) for the Americas, Paul Giannandrea (Scotland), president of Karate Scotland, for Europe, Rebecca Dobson (New Zealand) for Oceania and Melvin Brown (Ghana) for Africa.

Vokey is not arriving in unfamiliar territory. In addition to his seat on the WKF Executive Committee, he chairs the board of Karate Canada. On the official website of the Glasgow championships, he was still listed, at the time of the event, as CKF general secretary and championship director — a role he was already serving when he was re-elected to a further term in 2022, on the margins of the Birmingham championships.

The horizon of the Games

Espinós underlined the weight of the Commonwealth nations in the global development of karate.

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“I would like to thank the new members of the Commonwealth Karate Federation Executive Board for their commitment to taking karate to new heights throughout the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth nations are a strong pillar in the development of karate, and I thank all CKF members for the great progress our sport has experienced at Commonwealth events over the last years,” said Espinós.

He then set a wider horizon. “While the Commonwealth Karate Championships in Glasgow have been endorsed by Commonwealth Sport, we hope to see karate included in the Commonwealth Games soon. Karate is tremendously popular in all Commonwealth countries, and our sport can bring outstanding added value to the event, as demonstrated by its presence in all the other multi-sport games of the Olympic cycle.”

In its report on the competition, published on 9 November, the WKF added that Glasgow was the third consecutive edition of the championships — after Birmingham, England, in 2022, and Durban, South Africa, in 2024 — to receive that endorsement from Commonwealth Sport. Four days of competition brought together 595 athletes from 23 countries, in kata and in kumite.

After the titles, 2028

The congress was held before the competition had even begun. In the Elite programme that followed, on 5 and 6 November at the Glasgow International Arena, England finished at the top of the medal table with 33 titles, host nation Scotland with 18, results already established in our reports. The next edition of the championships is expected in 2028. According to information gathered by karate.news, Australia and Cyprus are among the countries that have put themselves forward to host it (After Glasgow: Australia and Cyprus put themselves forward for 2028). The WKF account of the congress mentions neither those approaches nor any decision on the next host.

Sources

Image: wkf.net

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