British Karate Federation News

British Karate Federation Championships. Edinburgh 2009.

Sep 14, 2009

The BKF Championships in Edinburgh over the weekend of the 5^th & 6^th September proved to be a resounding success. With over 1,400 competitors and 94 teams the event was the biggest yet.

Praise must go to the Referees, Judges, Table Officials, and general helpers for the tremendous effort they put in to ensure that the event was a success. Special mention must also be made of their personal financial contributions to the charity. Some gave their entire fees, some a part of their fees, and others donated by buying the BKF badges, which were sold as part of the charity fund-raising effort.

The Help for Heroes charity that the BKF adopted will, by the end of September, hopefully have raised in the region of £15,000. We launched the sale of the new BKF lapel badges and the £480 received went directly to the charity. (The badges were paid for by Mike Billman and Mike Dinsdale as their personal donation to H4H). You can get your very own lapel badge from Chikara.

While the competition was in progress on the Saturday the BKF board held their AGM, followed by the home nations council meeting. The meeting included a presentation from Brian Whittle, ex-Olympic and Commonwealth 400 metres champion, and concerned an  exciting new project which it is hoped British karate will lead on. Details will be announced in the very near future when everything is finalised.

The BKF President then announced that the Board wished to appoint four representatives, one from each of the home nations, as BKF Vice-Presidents. The nominees were announced and all accepted the position.

Those appointed  were as follows:

England: Mike Billman.
Ireland: Oliver Brunton.
Scotland: James Miller.
Wales: Roger Williams.

The Sunday event was also very well attended and one of the main highlights of the day was the Disabled category, which was included for the first time. This category was tremendously well received and the competitors were given a standing ovation by the packed crowd.

A fantastic effort on the part of the competitors.

The event was overseen by Welsh referee, Jason Ashcroft, who ensured that the competitors were well  cared for. The 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd places were presented by Jason and then the other competitors in this category were also presented with a trophy by BKF President, Terry Connell, and Chief Referee, Chico Mbakwe.

One of the spectators summed it up best when he approached the BKF President and said that he has a daughter who is autistic and "the event was the best thing he had ever seen in karate."

A vote of thanks must go to all concerned on the Tatami for ensuring that the event ran so smoothly.

Finally, it would be impossible to list everybody by name who helped to make the competition a success. Competitors, spectators, officials, all deserve the utmost credit,  but a very special thank you must go to three people. Firstly, the organiser, Scottish Karate legend Hamish Adam, who had expected 700 competitors and ended up with 1,400+, and took it all in his stride, (I think!)

Secondly, Chief Referee  Chico Mbakwe, who ensured that the competition ran so smoothly, and finally Danny Thomson who, despite not yet having recovered from a serious accident, has worked tirelessly to get the charity appeal off the ground.

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