European Karate Federation

Last updated
European Karate Federation
European Karate Federation logo.png
JurisdictionEurope
Membership52 members
AbbreviationEKF
Founded1963;61 years ago (1963) [1]
HeadquartersMadrid
Location Europe
President Antonio Espinós of Spain
Official website
www.europeankaratefederation.net

The European Karate Federation (EKF) is the governing body of competitive karate in more than 50 countries across Europe. [2] The EKF's stated goal is to promote, organize, regulate, and popularize the sport of karate. It is one of the five continental federations recognized by the World Karate Federation. [3]

Contents

EKU (1966–1992) / EKF (from 1993)

History

On 31 March 1961, a karate teacher named Jacques Delcourt was elected President of the French Karate Federation (which was a member of the French Judo Federation). In 1963, he invited the six other federations in Europe to come to France for the first international karate event in history. Of the six federations - which hailed from Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain - only Great Britain and Belgium accepted the invitation. [4]

On 15 December 1963, the French, British, and Belgian federations gathered in Paris for the first European Karate Congress. They sought to improve and organize karate tournaments between their respective countries. The European Karate Union (Union Européenne de Karaté) was officially founded on this day. [5]

Martial artists from the three countries utilized varying styles of karate, and unifying the different styles proved difficult for the separate federations. Consequently, the delegates decided to unify the refereeing. [6] [7] [8] [9]

On 24 May 1964, a governance structure for the EKU was established at the Second European Karate Congress. Jacques Delcourt was elected the first president, a position he held until 1988. At the Third Congress, on 21 November 1965, the delegates - now representing ten countries - adopted a constitutional structure, and standardized rules for instruction and rankings. They also scheduled the first European Karate Championships, to be held in Paris in May 1966. [10] [11] [12]

Since 1966, it has organized the European Karate Championships. Additionally, it now organizes Junior, Cadet, and Under-21 Championships(European Juniors Karate Championships).

The first Championship drew approximately 300 spectators and was broadcast live on television. The event drew criticism for being too violent, as multiple participants received facial injuries. The EKU Council offered differing opinions about the causes of the injuries, ranging from excessive rule violations to disparities in skills and conditioning. The issue of excess injuries was addressed at the EKU's first referee seminar, held in Rome in 1967.

In 1993, the EKU changed its name to the European Karate Federation. Since 1997, Spain's Antonio Espinos has served as president. He has also been the President of the World Karate Federation since 1998. [13]

In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Karate Federation removed Moscow as the host of the 2023 Senior European Karate Championships, which had been scheduled to be held in Moscow. [14] [15]

Member federations

Europe [16]
Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Flag of Andorra.svg  Andorra Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic
Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Flag of France.svg  France
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Flag of Malta.svg  Malta Flag of Monaco.svg  Monaco Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia Ulster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales

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References

  1. ↑ "EKF Statutes Art. 1, Sec. 1" (PDF). Wkf-web.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Black Belt. Active Interest Media. December 2003. p.  31 . Retrieved 30 November 2014– via Internet Archive. Karate Union of Great Britain.
  3. ↑ Arriaza, Berat Jakupi (March 2009). "Chapter 16: Karate". In Kordi, Ramin; Maffulli, Nicola; Wroble, Randall R.; et al. (eds.). Combat Sports Medicine. p. 288. ISBN   9781848003545 . Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  4. ↑ Arriaza, Rafael (March 2009). "Chapter 16: Karate ka". In Kordi, Ramin; Maffulli, Nicola; Wroble, Randall R.; et al. (eds.). Combat Sports Medicine. p. 288. ISBN   9781848003545 . Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Chronik des deutschen Karateverbandes". Chronik-karate.de. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Arriaza, Rafael (March 2009). "Chapter 16: Karate". In Kordi, Ramin; Maffulli, Nicola; Wroble, Randall R.; et al. (eds.). Combat Sports Medicine. p. 288. ISBN   9781848003545 . Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Sports Shorts". Apnewsarchive.com. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  8. ↑ AAU Rebuilds Karate. March 1975. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  9. ↑ Black Belt. Active Interest Media. December 2002. p.  40 . Retrieved 8 November 2014– via Internet Archive. jacques delcourt 1966 european karate.
  10. ↑ "HISTORY OF KARATE". Kkhd.hr. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  11. ↑ Black Belt. Active Interest Media. December 2003. p.  30 . Retrieved 21 December 2014– via Internet Archive. european karate congress.
  12. ↑ "WORLD KARATE FEDERATION - WKF History". Wkf-web.net. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "World Karate Federation President Antonio Espinos Discusses the Olympic Dream - Japan Real Time - WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  14. ↑ "World Karate Federation suspends Russian and Belarusian athletes". www.insidethegames.biz. March 9, 2022.
  15. ↑ "European Karate Federation cancels 2023 Senior European Championship in Russia".
  16. ↑ "WKF National Federation". World Karate Federation.
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