The history of Karate is about to be written this week. From October 17 to 18, Karate will be making its Olympic debut in Buenos Aires in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. It will be the first time that Karate is d in the sports programme of the Youth Olympic Games. 

The history of Karate is about to be written this week. From October 17 to 18, Karate will be making its Olympic debut in Buenos Aires in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. It will be the first time that Karate is d in the sports programme of the Youth Olympic Games. 

The Karate tournament at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games runs from October 17 to 18. The competition in Buenos Aires is limited to the Kumite categories, with the event starting on Wednesday, October 17 at 10:00 local time.  

The Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event that takes place every four years in between the main Olympic Games. The third edition in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2018 comes after Singapore in 2010 and Nanjing in 2014.

FACTSHEET: BUENOS AIRES 2018

• Venue: Pabellon Europa
• Dates: 17-18 October 2018
• Number of athletes: 48 (24 boys, 24 girls) from 28 nations
• Number of medals: 24 medals (four for each category) 

GOOD TO KNOW

1) The Karate competition at the Youth Olympic Games have three categories per gender: Male Kumite -61kg, Male Kumite -68kg, Male Kumite +68kg, Female Kumite -53kg, Female Kumite -59kg and Female Kumite +59kg. 

2) Each weight Kumite category will have 8 athletes per discipline, distributed in 2 pools of 4 athletes each.

3) The competition takes place in a square mat denominated ‘tatami’. The contestants, called Aka (red) and Ao (blue) for their Japanese nomenclature, compete against each other trying to score points by using different punching, kicking and takedown techniques. The duration of the bouts will be two minutes (actual time) for men and for women.

4) Contestants receive points according to correctly executed techniques. The point system follows this breakdown 

   - One point ("Yuko") point for a straight punch or strikes delivered to the body and/or face. 

   - Two points ("Waza-Ari") points for a middle kick delivered to the body. 

   - Three points ("Ippon") points for a high kick delivered to the head, or for a punch delivered on an opponent who has been taken to the ground after a sweep or takedown.

5) The winner is the athlete claiming the highest number of points at full time.

6) The competition format for the Karate tournament at the Youth Olympic Games follows the “Round Robin” system. Competitors are paired up in groups, and the top-ranked athletes in each group will clash for the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will meet in the title-deciding bout. 

7) Four medals will be awarded: Gold, Silver and two Bronze medals. 

8)  The 24 athletes per gender qualified for the Games have reached the event either by standings, by the Olympic Qualification tournament in Umag or by the Universality criteria. 

9)  Athletes participating in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games must have been born between 1 January 2001 and 29 June 2002. 

10) The host ry is represented by two athletes: Rodrigo Tello in Male Kumite -61kg and1 Juan Salsench in Male Kumite -68kg 

11) Athletes from 28 ries and five continents are represented at the Karate competition

SCHEDULE

October 17th: Competition Day 1

• 10:00                     Female Kumite -53 kg

• 11:00                     Male Kumite -61 kg

• 12:00                     Female Kumite -59 kg

• 15:00                     Semi-final bouts

• 15:45                     Gold medal bouts

• 6:00                     Victory Ceremony

October 18th: Competition Day 2

• 09:00                     Male Kumite -68 kg

• 10:00                     Female Kumite +59 kg

• 11:00                     Male Kumite +68 kg

• 14:00                     Semi-final bouts

• 14:45                     Gold medal bouts

• 15:00                     Victory Ceremony

19:30                     Closing Ceremony

WHERE TO WATCH

The Olympic Channel will be providing daily coverage of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. Follow the Karate competition at the Olympic Channel on https://www.olympicchannel.com

You will also be able to follow all the action on WKF.net. Click here for access to the live stream of the Karate competition at the Games (geolocalisation restrictions may be applied) 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow the event on WKF social networks and get involved in the conversation using #BuenosAires2018 and #Karate
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wkfofficial/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/worldkaratefederation/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ worldkarate_wkf 
Website: WKF.net