On June 26-27, the European Karate Adults Championship 2021 will be held in Tbilisi, Georgia. With this greeting, I would like to congratulate the organizers, the EKO (European Karate Organization) and the WKO Georgia Branch (Georgian Fullcontact Karate National Federation) for the opening of this great event.
Organizing an international event of this scale requires a lot of hard work and dedication by many people. WKO Georgia, led by Branch Chief Avtandil Shengelia, Mr. Anzor Chubinidze (Head of Organizing Committee), Mr. Irakli Dolaberidze (Sport Director of Tournament) and many other capable people, is known for being well organized and their warm hospitality, so I am convinced that this year’s tournament will also become a great success for the organizer, the participants, and the audience.
With the 7th World Karate Championship in Weight Categories coming up next year in Poland, and this tournament being the first selection tournament in Europe for the world event, this will be an excellent opportunity to see how the top-level competitors trained and prepared themselves despite the difficult conditions presented by the COVID-19 crisis. I trust that everyone will do their best to demonstrate the result of their hard training, and that such efforts will provide encouragement and hope for those still recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
For everyone involved in the tournament, you will have the chance to represent your country with honor, and to demonstrate the result of your hard work! I wish all of you the best of luck, and I hope that this will be a memorable experience for you.
Lastly, I would also like to thank not only our Branch Chief and instructors in Georgia for their dedication and hard work, but also all of the students and volunteers who have been working hard to make this a successful event. Thank you everyone!
OSU
Kenji Midori (WKO President)
On behalf of the European board, I am happy and excited to welcome you at the European Adults Championship 2021 in the beautiful city of Tbilisi.
Never in the history of full contact karate has there been such a challenge as the organizing of this prestigious competition. While the coronavirus was still at the height of its impact, the Georgian Fullcontact Karate National Federation with president shihan Avtandil Shengelia, WKO Branch Chief and Country Representative Irakli Dolaberidze, Sport Director of Tournament and Mr. Anzor Chubinidze Head of Organizing Committee their strong team of assistants agreed to give everything to make this tournament possible.
And, also thanks to the full support of the Ministry of Sports and relevant government agencies of Georgia, they did accomplish this incredible feat.
While all eyes in the karate world were watching and the virus was still raging, the European Adults Championship 2021 definitely took form. Through great preparation and enormous eye for detail and, above all, safety, the organizers managed to attract fighters, officials and referees from more than 20 countries.
And now, after a seemingly incredible long time, we are again able to share the unique feeling of being members of the shinkyokushin family. Of being together, competing and celebrating the budo spirit of our karate.
Of course the best will win this tournament. However, everybody who went through great trouble to join the tournament has shown his or her true spirit. Once again, the incredible strength of our WKO with its president Kenji Midori shihan has been proven, to all of the martial arts world.
Osu!
Koen Scharrenberg (EKO President)
