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Wednesday, 25 June 2008 |
Dear fellow Referees and travelers on the road to the Olympics
It seems that we are once again on the threshold of Olympic participation for our beloved sport of Karate. It has been a bumpy road with many twists and turns along the way and at times even the most starry-eyed dreamers among us could not be blamed for feeling let down and pessimistic. I recall, back in 1980, when I appeared on the cover of Black Belt Magazine and I was optimistically predicting that we would debut in the upcoming 1984 Games. Alas, I was premature. But now 25 years later I am optimistic once again, as never before have our chances looked so good.
Background
At the 117th International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Singapore in 2005, the IOC members voted to review the sports that would participate in the 2012 Games in London. The members made history by voting for change for the first time in almost 70 years. Twenty-six of the 28 sports from Athens 2004 were chosen for London 2012. Two sports, baseball and softball, did not receive the majority of votes needed, although they do remain on the list of Olympic sports and are therefore eligible for possible inclusion at future Olympic Games.
As baseball and softball were not retained for the 2012 Olympic Games, the IOC members voted to add two new sports to the Olympic programme, since according to IOC rules, each Olympics can contain up to 28 sports.
Five non-Olympic sports,(roller sports, squash, golf, karate and rugby sevens) were examined by the Olympic Programme Commission as part of its study. After a first selection vote, out of these five sports, the IOC members chose two finalists: squash and karate. However, the majority of 2/3 of the Session was required for these to become Olympic sports. Neither squash nor karate obtained this majority. They were therefore not added to the programme of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
One more chance
Although we find ourselves down in points and at the ”AtoShibakaru” position, all is not yet lost. The President of the IOC decided to convene a session of the IOC Congress in Copenhagen Denmark in October 2009, where a new round of voting will take place.
Mr. George Yerolimpos, the General Secretary of WKF, in a recent letter wrote that he ”was very pleased to announce....that karate has been once again selected to the short list of the sports that the IOC will examine in its meeting in Copenhagen in October 2009 for inclusion into the Olympic programme”
So we are still very much alive!
Mr. Kim Bohmert, the president of the Danish Karate Federation has proposed to establish the “Copenhagen Open” Karate Championships beginning with October 2009 to coincide with the meeting of the IOC Congress. Sensei Bohmert believes that he has the support of the Danish Olympic Committee to present this high level competition to the members of the IOC meeting in Copenhagen and thus encourage them to view the sport of Karate favourably. Presently he is gathering support for this event from members of the WKF including President Espinos.
In order to garner international support he has invited Sensei Alex Miladi, a member of the USANKF Referee Committee, to be the Chief Referee at the 2009 Copenhagen Open.
Obviously if this effort proves to be successful we will see Karate participation in an Olympic soon. Those referees who have an interest in being selected for future participation in international events such as the Olympics, now need to redouble their efforts to gain all the necessary licenses, to assure that they are eligible for selection.
I am including for your interest, information the WKF has provided to the IOC, for the makeup of any future Karate contingent that may be sent for Olympic participation
SUMMARY - WKF
PROPOSED EVENTS FOR INCLUSION IN THE OLYMPIC
PROGRAMME
* The WKF has proposed nine karate events (weight categories) for inclusion on the Olympic Programme: six events for men and three events for women. There would be 12 competitors in each category (108 athletes in total)
* The WKF has also made an alternative proposal of ten events (weight categories): five events for men and five events for women
* Were it required, the WKF could restructure the competition to include five weight categories for men and five weight categories for women (120 athletes in total). A total of 45 Technical Officials would be required to run the proposed karate competition
With this exciting news we should be able to attract many new referees and officials to join the NKF program. By increasing our numbers, we can accomplish several goals. Firstly, we increase our referee ranks and by extension the ranks of competitors that accompany their sensei. This by itself is a good thing.
Secondly, we lessen the demands and the pressures faced by our present cadre of referees who must officiate thousands of matches with little rest.
Thirdly, by swelling the size of the referee corps, we can select the more seasoned and experienced referees to focus on the advanced athletes, thereby allowing you to become more prepared for passing the WKF tests needed for advancement.
Stay tuned for more details of this important development.
In the meantime, please don’t keep the NKF referee program a secret. Pass the word
to all your friends, colleagues and fellow sensei.
Dr. Alex Sternberg
USANKF Technical Committee Member
Chairman USANKF R.C. 1994-2000
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 June 2008 )
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