The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE top practitioners of traditional karate will bring together the best of the best in the sport to showcase their skills and bye for spots on various national teams.

The Bahamas Karate Federation will host its Open National Competition in the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium at 5pm on December 2.

According to federation executives, this tournament will be an opportunity to bring together all local traditional karate schools within the Bahamas to showcase their talent in an effort to qualify for the Bahamas national karate team for several upcoming international events, including Junior Pan Am, Junior World Games, CAC Games and others.

Approximately 24 athletes are expected to participate, ranging from ages seven to 35. They will represent the best from each school in their respective divisions and all major karate associations will be represented.

Elrick McKinney, tournament coordinator (Ruku Dan-6th Degree; Okinawan Goju-Ryu; Karate-do Kyokai), said it is aimed at elevating the level of competition across the board.

“This particular tournament will be a smaller one because we are looking for the best from each dojo to represent. We are trying to get the best so we want to raise the competition level form the standard they are used to because we want to prepare them for international events,” he said.

“The traditional martial arts have been quiet for so long but now we have to let the public know what we are all about because our aim is to qualify for the 2020 Olympics so we need to educate the public now.”

The Bahamas Karate Federation is a non-profit, non-political sports organisation whose goal is to improve the level of amateur karate in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

The organisation is a member affiliate to the Pan-American Union of Karate-Do Organisations (PUKO) and the World Karate Federation (WKF), which to date are the continental and world governing bodies for amateur sports karate.

Chinyere Ijeoma-Chukwuka, public relations officer for the federation (Sandan - 3rd Degree; Japan Karate-do Ryobu-Kai International Bahamas), said further exposure for the younger athletes remains necessary for them to showcase their talent on a globally.

“We have been hosting local tournaments all year round so that we can streamline who are the best and define a ranking system so the more intermediate and advanced who have showcased their skills and their level of expertise, those are the ones we are bringing forward to compete for the junior nationals,” she said.

“Only in recent times have karate schools been stepping to the media to showcase things. It’s not in our forte to be in the spotlight all the time.

“Our focus is to showcase our talent worldwide because there are so many opportunities worldwide and we are not trying to keep them in a shell. Everything changes with growth and as you have a growth in population you see a growth in talent and participation.

“From what I have seen here, we have a lot of raw talent being wasted and it is time we come together and give our kids an opportunity on a world stage,” she added.