ENTRY OPENING DATE

Tuesday 28 November 2023

STAGE 2 ENTRY

Individual Events (Individual Kata & Kumite):

Tuesday 6 February 2024 at 23:59 – Student Entry Deadline

(Students / Competitors must apply by this deadline)

Thursday 8 February 2024 at 23:59 – Institution Administrator Selection Deadline

(Institutional Administrators are given 48 hours after the student / competitor deadline to approve entries)

Team Events (Team Kata & Team Kumite):

Tuesday 6 February 2024 at 23:59 – Team Entry Deadline

(Institutional Administrators must enter a team by this deadline)

Thursday 8 February 2024 at 23:59 – Team Join Deadline

(Students / Competitors must have applied and been accepted into the team by this deadline)

ENTRY COSTS

Individual Kata and Kumite – £40.50

Open Team Kata – £62.40

Men's Team Kumite – £79.80

Women's Team Kumite – £62.40

STAGE 1 ENTRY CLOSING DATE

Individual Events (Individual Kata & Kumite):

Tuesday 30 January 2024 at 23:59 – Student Entry Deadline

(Students / Competitors must apply by this deadline)

Thursday 1 February 2024 at 23:59 – Institution Administrator Selection Deadline

(Institutional Administrators are given 48 hours after the student / competitor deadline to approve entries)

Team Events (Team Kata & Team Kumite):

Tuesday 30 January 2024 at 23:59 – Team Entry Deadline

(Institutional Administrators must enter a team by this deadline)

Thursday 1 February 2024 at 23:59 – Team Join Deadline

(Students / Competitors must have applied and been accepted into the team by this deadline)

ENTRY COSTS

Individual Kata and Kumite – £33.75

Open Team Kata – £52

Men's Team Kumite – £66.50

Women's Team Kumite – £52

The following schedule is provisional and provided to aid with travel plans. It is not final and may be subject to change.

Saturday 24^th February

8:00am – Registration

9:00am – Coaches/Captains Briefing (Compulsory for 1 member of each institution to be present)

10:00am – Kata Events begin.

14:00pm (Approx, dependent on Kata entries) – Team Kumite

14:15pm – Weigh-in Opens

17:15pm – Weigh-in Closes

19:00pm (Approx, dependent on entries) – Day 1 close

Sunday 25^th February

8:30am – 9:30am – Registration and Weigh-in open

9:30am – Individual Kumite begins (Novice to begin, lightest weights first)

17:00pm (Approx, dependent on entries) – Individual Kumite Finals

18:30pm – Medal presentations for ALL events (Kata and Kumite, Team and Individuals)

Kumite round times:

Novice Kumite rounds will be one and a half minutes long.

Senior matches as per WKF rules will be 3 minutes long.

Team matches will be 2 minutes long.

BUCS reserves the right to alter these timings of matches across the event.

Please read the below carefully, as there are two different entry methods for individual and team competitions:

ENTRY PROCESS – INDIVIDUAL ENTRIES (NOVICE AND SENIOR KUMITE, KATA):

To apply for the competition all eligible competitors must follow these steps:

1. Competitor to apply to the event on BUCS Play (Instructions on how to do this can be found here)
2. Institution administrator approves entry (Instructions on how to do this can be found here)
3. BUCS approves/denies entry into competition and publishes confirmed entry list

Any data will be handled in accordance with BUCS Privacy Policy

By participating in this event you agree to adhere to BUCS General Event Disclaimer

To check whether you are eligible to compete in BUCS competitions, please visit REG 4 Individual Eligibility.

ENTRY PROCESS – TEAM EVENTS (TEAM KUMITE AND OPEN TEAM KATA)

To apply for this competition:

1. Entries will need to be submitted via the team entries section of our online entry system, BUCS Play (Instructions on how to do this can be found here)
2. Please speak to your Institution Administrator as they will need to submit your entry.
3. A Team Captain must be selected as part of the team before entries close.
4. Competitors then need to apply for their respective team. (Instructions on how to do this can be found here)

BUCS Karate

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Individual Entries:

For non-team events, entries are limited to a maximum of three entries per category per institution.

Individuals are not permitted to enter more than one Kumite weight category, or both novices, intermediate or senior. Novice, intermediate and senior levels are restricted to the following grades:

Kata

Men’s/Women’s Novice: 4th Kyu or below

Men’s/Women’s Intermediate: 3rd to 1st Kyu

Men’s/Women’s Senior: Dan grades

Kumite

Men’s/Women’s Novice: 4th Kyu or below

Men’s/Women’s Senior: 3rd Kyu and above

There is the possibility that weight categories for Kumite may be merged if entries are low.

Team Entries:

Open Team Kata: One guaranteed entry per institution, 3 competitors per team

Kumite - institutions are permitted to enter a team as long as they gain ascendency - this is a minimum of 2 for women's or 3 for men's teams

Men’s Team Kumite: One guaranteed entry per institution, 5 competitors per team (minimum of 3)

Women’s Team Kumite: One guaranteed entry per institution, 3 competitors per team (minimum of 2)

EVENTS

Kata Senior (Men’s and Women’s)

Kata Intermediate (Men’s and Women’s)

Kata Novice (Men’s and Women’s)

Men’s Senior Kumite -60kg

Men’s Senior Kumite -67kg

Men’s Senior Kumite -75kg

Men’s Senior Kumite -84kg

Men’s Senior Kumite 84kg+

Women’s Senior Kumite -50kg

Women’s Senior Kumite -55kg

Women’s Senior Kumite -61kg

Women’s Senior Kumite -68kg

Women’s Senior Kumite 68kg+

Men’s Novice LW Kumite -70kg

Men’s Novice MW Kumite -80kg

Men’s Novice HW Kumite 80kg+

Women’s Novice LW Kumite -57kg

Women’s Novice MW Kumite -63kg

Women’s Novice HW Kumite 63kg+

Team Kumite (Men’s and Women’s)

Team Kata (Mixed)

Please note: The categories listed here for Kumite are subject to change. Categories are only available according to the number of entries received and/or the number of competitors who attend the event and as a result some may be cancelled or merged either pre-event or at the event. If categories are merged only one set of BUCS Points will be awarded.

BUCS POINTS AVAILABLE

Please see Appendix 1 for the BUCS Points available at this event.

Overall Team shall be calculated using the extracted scores across all competitions.

All competitors must hold a valid, up to date recognisable karate licence, duly completed with full and appropriate grading history. For competitors that gained grades from another association, then that licence must also be presented for scrutiny. Licence checks will be carried out on the day, and institutions and competitors are reminded that a valid licence/licences must be presented upon request; failure to do so may result in disqualification. There will be no exceptions for forgetting a licence, or not bringing a previous licence if it includes gradings.

If in doubt as to what this potentially means for your entry, or if you have any eligibility queries, please contact your Institution Administrator who can pass the query to BUCS. Please be assured of your eligibility prior to submitting an entry for this event. Entry fees will not be refunded for lost/missing licences causing disqualification.

Individual Kata

8th to 4th Kyu

Pinan/Heian kata only. Competitors will be expected to know a minimum of two kata, but will not be allowed to repeat a kata consecutively (including the final). They may alternate between any of the five pinan/heian kata as they wish or between the minimum two.

3rd to 1st Kyu (Brown Belt Kata)

Only the following kata may be performed. Competitors may repeat any kata only once but not consecutively. The number of kata a finalist will need will depend on the entry, but a minimum two kata should be sufficient. If the entry is unusually large we will review the situation prior to the event. For the finals, a competitor may perform any karate kata they wish from the WKF list:

Bassai dai (Passai)

Saifa

Seienchin (Seiyunchin)

Juroku (Seiru)

Matsukaze (Wankan)

Jion

Shio-kosokun

Tekki Shodan (Naihanchin Shodan or Naifanchin)

Gekiai dai Ichi or Ni

Heian or Pinan kata’s

Senior categories will be run using the WKF points system. Other categories will be run using flags.

Team Kata

Teams will be required to have a minimum of two kata.

Teams will be required to perform a different kata to the previous kata for all medal matches. A team may perform the same kata for all elimination rounds but must perform a different kata for the final.

The following equipment is compulsory and must be provided by the competitors themselves:

•            Belts and mitts (None will be available around the mats on the day).

•            Gum shields, foot and shin pads and ladies chest protectors are compulsory.

•            Groin guards are advised.

In addition, competitors, as well as coaches, must only wear insignia of their institutions on all clothing including the Gi. No insignia of style, nation, federation, or association will be allowed.

It is also expected that coaches should be knowledgable in all aspects of Karate and knows the rules proficiently.

The rules and regulations for the event can be found here.

Competitors can make changes to their entry information (Including weight category) through BUCS Play until the entry closing date.

After the entry closing date, no changes to entries can be made except only changes to weight categories on the day of the event (Not before), dependent on availability. Please therefore ensure the weight category you enter is as accurate as possible prior to the entry closing date. Should you need to change category on the day, and there are no available spaces in the category, you will be not be allowed to compete, and will not receive your entry fee back.

Withdrawals after the entry closing date must be made by the Athletic Union (or equivalent) via e-mail to the BUCS Event Lead. Withdrawals after the entry closing date will still be charged the entry fee.

Withdrawals after 17:00 on Wednesday 21^st February 2023, or not withdrawing/not registering at the event will be classified as a ‘no-show’ and will be charged the entry fee and an additional £50 fine payable by the Athletic Union (or equivalent).

Please see REG 7.9 for our full withdrawal policy.

This event will be used as qualification for European Universities Games 2024. The top four finishers in each category will be eligible for selection, with the top two finishers automatically qualifying, and finishers 3 and 4 eligible for selection subject to a selection panel.

National squad athletes competing in non-BUCS competitions on the same date will be considered for selection, but selection priority will be given to those attending BUCS Nationals: Karate Championships.

Further information will be provided in the Event Guide.

Please see more information on the BUCS International EUSA Page.

Applications are now open to volunteer at BUCS Nationals 2024. There are a range of roles on offer, and six sports to get involved in. Role descriptions can be found below.

Athletics Sport Assistant Volunteer

Badminton Sport Assistant Volunteer

Fencing Sport Assistant Volunteer

Karate Sport Assistant Volunteer

Swimming Sport Assistant Volunteer

Photography Volunteer

How to apply:

1. Register your interest through the form at the bottom of this page by Wednesday 31 January 2024
2. After the closing date the BUCS office will be in touch with all applicants on how to sign up for shifts.

Any questions, please get in touch with [email protected] 

BUCS are delighted to announce two supporting partners for Nationals 2024 – New Balance and AmeriCamp. 

As BUCS’ kit provider, New Balance are giving you as BUCS athletes the chance to access a range of bespoke and personalised Nationals kit. To purchase this new range, head to the BUCS Shop!  

AmeriCamp is offering BUCS athletes the summer of a lifetime, providing you with the opportunity to earn a minimum of $2000 working at a summer camp in the USA, using the skills and experiences gained from your sporting background. To find out more and apply, click here!  

All partners are excited to be here supporting you as you take on a thrilling weekend of sport and competition. They'll be offering the opportunity to win some exclusive giveaways and you can find out more about what they have to offer. 

Anyone wishing to take photos or video at this event must complete the BUCS Media Accreditation Form prior to the event.