January 2026 Referee Update

2025 closes out on a great note with incredible performance by USA Karate and our officials!

12 sanctioned seminars were conducted in the 4th quarter. A total of 42 sanctioned seminars were held in 2025, and over 260 new officials received licenses in 2025 - a record number of new officials in one year! 2026 continues the momentum with 7 sanctioned seminars already scheduled for the 1st quarter.

Our senior international officials continued doing a fantastic job. Kathy Bailey, Cedric Barksdale, Will Gatch, and Fariba Madani represented USA Karate at the World Championships in Cairo at the end of November. We continue to be proud of how well USA Karate is represented by officials, athletes, coaches, and staff!

Kathy Bailey headed from Cairo to Venice to officiate at the WKF Youth League in December. She was joined in Venice by USA Karate international officials Henry Barnabei and Jony Martinez. It is a tremendous effort to pursue and maintain international licenses and officiate at important high-level international events. We are thankful to our officials that invest in and dedicate their time to attend these events, along with our athletes and coaches.

The Suzuki Cup in Dallas in December was a success with the Referee Committee, USA Karate leadership, many regional lead and assistant lead referees, and international officials in attendance. It was a great opportunity to receive a preview of the new 2026 rules at the referee seminar. The athlete and coach seminars at the event were also well attended. It was very nice to spend time together after the tournament with the team. 

We are looking forward to the first-ever Referee Training Camp January 16-18, 2026, in Miami. A can’t-miss event for officials to learn about the 2026 rules of competition, receive a detailed drill-down on kata and kumite, learn best practices, and have the opportunity for those that want to test to upgrade their licenses up to Kumite Referee A and Kata Judge A.

The Referee Committee is busy working on 2026 updates to policies, competition rules, and supporting material. Updates will be posted on the USA Karate website. The Referee Committee Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 18th, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time will be an open session for USA Karate official members. 

Good luck to all USA Karate athletes competing in the 2026 National Senior Team Trials and athletes and officials going to international events in Tbilisi and Istanbul in January!

Thank you to all our officials that contribute to the success of USA Karate. We wish everyone a great 2026 and hope to see everyone at the 2026 US Open, April 2-5 in Fort Worth, TX, and the National Championships, July 16-19 in Spokane, WA.

USA Karate