Referee Update: USA Karate Continues to Shine in the Third Quarter!

Congratulations on a very successful National Championships in Fort Worth. One hundred twenty-two licensed officials participated, and twenty-nine officials tested for licenses at the event. There was great representation across the regions and especially from the state of Texas, including many officials that have received licenses through the regional program over the last few years. USA Karate staff, leadership, and participants did a fantastic job, including volunteers for registration, check-in, staging, security, set-up, tables, officials, and coaches. Thank you to the spectators and families that cheered all the athletes on!

In the third quarter, we have already held three sanctioned seminars, and three more are scheduled for September. There are seven regional seminars already scheduled for the 4th quarter. Four sanctioned tournaments and several regional camps are also scheduled for the 4th quarter. Dates are published for 2026, including the Team Trials, US Open, Nationals, and other sanctioned events. A referee camp is currently being planned for 2026; stay tuned for more details soon!

Our international referee presence continues to be strong. Kathy Bailey and Fariba Madani represented USA Karate well in Paraguay at the Pan American Games and at the Jr. PKF Championships. We had seven officials receive one or more license upgrades at the Jr. PKF Championships. Seventeen of our USA Karate international officials attended the Youth League in Monterrey, Mexico, and one attended the Series A event in Salzburg, Austria. To say how proud we are of USA Karate athletes, coaches, and referees at the international level is an understatement. Amazing results for the team achieving PKF 3X gold!

Our referee committee, regional leads, and assistant leads have been busy reviewing opportunities to mentor new officials and continue to work on ongoing opportunities to enhance the quality of our officials and strengthen standards across the US.

Thank you to all our officials for their continued dedication to USA Karate. We are looking forward to seeing everyone soon and reporting back on the performance in Malaysia, Paris, and Cairo. Meanwhile, please save the 2026 dates for the US Open, April 2-5 in Fort Worth, TX, and the National Championships, July 16-19 in Spokane, WA.