Passing of Sensei Bob Poynton

WSKA members mourn the loss of Bob Poynton who was an outstanding karateka, a friend to many and for 10 years the Director of Administration for WSKA.

WSKA 2019 Championships Portugal Review

The 2019 WSKA World Championships were held at a brand new Sports Hall in the municipality of Odivelas, in the suburbs of the beautiful city of Lisbon, Portugal.

With 750 entries from 25 countries from all over the world, the expectations were high for three days of top class competition and they did not disappoint. This was an exciting event which demonstrated the highest standards of traditional Shotokan karate.

Guest of honour Paulo Cesar, responsible for Sports in the City Council, thanked WSKA for choosing Portugal, as well as everyone involved in the competition. Jose Ferreira, President of Liga Portuguesa De Karate Do Shotokan (LPKS), and Richard Poole, President of WSKA opened the tournament by greeting the competitors and supporters, as well as thanking the hosting team for their magnificent achievement in organising such a successful championships.

As always, the Portuguese team created a fantastic atmosphere supported by a large and enthusiastic crowd over the three days of the event.

Prior to the tournament, there was a meeting of Congress where two new WSKA Executive Board members were elected.

Unfortunately, due to ill health, the Director of Administration had to stand down. In his place, Antonio Duran Fernandez from Spain was nominated and elected to the post. Congress confirmed the appointment of Leslie Jensen to the position as Director of Finance. Both new officers will join the Executive Board to work towards expanding WSKA on the international stage.

We are now looking forward to the next WSKA Championships which will be held in Liverpool, England on the 25-26 September, 2021.

WSKA 2017 Championships an outstanding success

Karateka from all around the world travelled to Treviso, Italy for the World Shotokan Karate-Do Association (WSKA) Championships.

With over 750 entries from 27 countries, this prestigious three-day Tournament lived up to all expectations with ‘world class’ competitors producing Karate performances of the highest technical standard.

Sensei Hiroshi Shirai, 10^th Dan, was the guest of honour along with Istituto Shotokan Italia President Rino Campini and Ofelio Michielan, the founder of Ren Bu Kan, Treviso. The president of FIKTA Prof. Gabriele Achilli and Giovanni Manildo, the Mayor of Treviso were also in attendance. 

The hosts, Italy, did an excellent job of both promoting and reporting on the tournament with interviews, videos and social media.  This created a fantastic atmosphere generated by a very large and enthusiastic crowd over the three days of the event.

Prior to the tournament, there was a meeting of Congress where the full WSKA Executive Board was re-elected unanimously.  Announcing the appointment of several new positions, Richard Poole (WSKA President) signaled the intention of the organisation to direct more energy and resources towards expanding WSKA on the international stage.

We are now looking forward to the next WSKA Championships which will be held in Portugal 20-22 September, 2019.

2017 WSKA Championships bulletin

Please download and read the latest 2017 WSKA Championships bulletin here.

2017 Championship programme available

The 2017 Championships will be held in Treviso Italy September 22-24, 2017.  The championship programme is available download here or online here