When the Karate One Series A returns to Salzburg from 2 to 4 October, it will do more than stage another open tournament in the shadow of the Alps. The Austrian city closes the 2026 Series A season, and with 1,191 entries from 82 delegations registered for the Sporthalle Alpenstrasse, the final chapter of the year promises three long days of kumite and kata beneath the silhouette of the Hohensalzburg.
A final stop beneath the fortress
The season opened in the depths of winter in Tbilisi, where the Georgian capital hosted the first Series A from 9 to 11 January. The circuit then moved to A Coruña, on Spain's Atlantic coast, from 24 to 26 April, before crossing the ocean to Guadalajara, Mexico, from 17 to 20 July. Salzburg is the fourth stop and the last Series A on the World Karate Federation's 2026 calendar; the next one is not due until Tbilisi returns in January 2027.
The city knows this event well. Salzburg staged the Series A in September 2024 and again in September 2025, and in his welcome message Georg Rußbacher, president of Karate Austria, says the federation is "proud to once again host this prestigious international event." The organisation rests on Karate Austria and the Salzburger Karateverband, whose volunteers Rußbacher thanks alongside the city and its mayor, Bernhard Auinger. Visitors will find a city celebrated as Mozart's birthplace, its old town watched over by the Hohensalzburg Fortress. The tatami, however, will be laid out away from the postcard views, in the Sporthalle Alpenstrasse in the south of the city.
An open door to the world
What sets the Series A apart within the Karate One family is its openness. Every member federation of the WKF may enter, and the categories mirror those of the senior World Championships, with the single exception of team kumite. Each kumite weight category is capped at 96 athletes and each individual kata event at 128, and every competitor in an individual category earns points under the WKF World Ranking regulations.
Those limits have been put to the test. According to the entry lists published by the WKF, male kata has reached its ceiling of 128 athletes, with dozens more names waiting on the replacement list, while female kata stands just below it at 126. In kumite, every weight category but one counts between 87 and 92 competitors. Italy brings by far the largest contingent, with 145 entries, ahead of Germany with 75; Türkiye, Ukraine and France each account for more than sixty. Yet the lists reach far beyond Europe, from Chinese Taipei to Venezuela, from Senegal to New Zealand, and from Kazakhstan to Canada.
Entries closed on 17 September at noon GMT, so the field is now set. Accreditation and the weigh-in take place on Thursday 1 October between 10:00 and 17:00, and any athlete who misses them will not be included in the draw, which is due to be published online that same evening.
Three days, fourteen titles
Fourteen titles will be decided over the weekend: ten in kumite, two in individual kata and two in team kata. The competition opens on Friday with a marathon session running from 9:00 to 22:00, as individual kata for women and men shares the tatami with the heaviest kumite weight categories, female +68 kg and male +84 kg. As on every day, eliminations, semi-finals and repechages come first, before the bronze-medal matches and finals bring the session to a close.
Saturday belongs to team kata and to the lightest fighters, female −50 kg and −55 kg and male −60 kg and −67 kg, with action scheduled from 9:00 to 20:30. The weekend then ends on Sunday with the middle weights, female −61 kg and −68 kg and male −75 kg and −84 kg, between 9:00 and 19:00. The organisers point out that the detailed timetable will be adjusted to the final number of athletes once registration is complete.
There is money at stake as well as medals. Individual champions will collect 500 euros, silver medallists 300 and bronze medallists 100, while the winning team kata squads take 600 euros, with 400 and 200 for the other podium places. On the podium itself the rules leave no room for improvisation: athletes must step up in a tracksuit or in their karategi.
A last ranking stop before a busy autumn
The timing gives Salzburg its particular weight. Ten days after the last medals are handed out, the WKF's attention will turn to Bielsko-Biała in Poland, which hosts the World Cadet, Junior and U21 Championships from 14 to 18 October. Then, from 20 to 22 November, Hangzhou in China stages the Karate World Cup for national teams. For senior athletes chasing ranking points, the Austrian weekend is the last Series A opportunity of the year to add to their tally, and the replacement lists suggest that many were eager not to miss it.
Free seats and a live stream
Those who want to watch in person need no ticket: the organisers' bulletin announces free entrance for all spectators. For everyone else, the event will be streamed on the WKF's YouTube channel, from the first eliminations on Friday morning to the last bow on Sunday evening.
In his welcome, Rußbacher looks forward to "an inspiring weekend of top-level karate and international friendship." With karateka from every continent heading for the Alpenstrasse, the stage is set for the Series A season to have its final say in Salzburg.
Sources
- https://www.wkf.net/karate-one/championship/!/442/2026-karate-one-series-a-salzburg
- https://www.wkf.net/files/pdf/championships/Bulletin_Series_A_Salzburg_2026.pdf
- https://www.wkf.net/files/pdf/championships/Competition_Programme_SA_Salzburg.pdf
- https://www.wkf.net/calendar
- https://www.wkf.net/karate-one/championship/!/419/2026-karate-one-series-a-tbilisi
- https://www.wkf.net/karate-one/championship/!/424/2026-karate-one-series-a-a-coruna
- https://www.wkf.net/karate-one/championship/!/435/2026-karate-one-series-a-guadalajara
- https://www.wkf.net/karate-one/championship/!/274/2024-karate-1-series-a-salzburg
- https://www.wkf.net/karate-one/championship/!/408/karate-1-series-a-salzburg-austria
- https://www.wkf.net/world-championships/championship/!/443/2026-world-cadet-junior-u21-championships-bielsko-biala
- https://www.wkf.net/world-championships/championship/!/445/2026-karate-world-cup
- https://www.the-karatedojo.com/calendar/karate1-series-a-salzburg-2026/
Illustration: karate.news
