BUDDING karatekas from schools around the country are expected to converge at Dominican Convent School in the capital on March 3 for the third edition of the Clash of Titans Inter-Schools Karate tournament.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
The inter-schools competition, which is organised by Dominican Convent, was first held in 2015 and returned to the local schools calendar last year after a break in 2016.
This year’s tournament is expected to be even bigger with almost 150 upcoming male and female karatekas from different schools around the country scheduled to compete in individual and team events.
Tournament organiser Winston Nyanhete, who is also the Dominican Convent karate head coach, said preparations for the inter-schools karate championship were now at an advanced stage.
“We’ve been preparing for this year’s event since the beginning of the term and we are now in the final stages of our preparations. We are expecting between 130 to 150 athletes, last year we had about 116 athletes from 31 primary and secondary schools.
It is pleasing to have such a high number of participants since karate is not a big sport in schools if you compare to other sports such as soccer, basketball and rugby.
“This is one of the biggest tournaments on the schools calendar in karate since there are not many inter-schools karate championships.”
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Nyanhete said the Clash of Titans Inter-Schools Karate tournament would play a key role in the identification of budding talent at grassroots level as the country gears for karate’s Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
“The tournament is meant to give exposure for athletes in schools and with karate being included in the Olympics, it presents young fighters with a platform to showcase their talent and also get the much-needed exposure for bigger tournaments.
“This year we will also have the Youth Olympic Games qualifiers at the Youth African Games in Algeria where we are hoping to send about four athletes who have gained valuable exposure by competing in schools tournaments,” he said.
The Clash of Titans Inter-Schools Karate tournament is open for schools male and female karatekas from the ages of seven to 20 years.
According to the tournament programme released by the organisers, registration for the tournament is expected to begin tomorrow before closing two days later.
The competition draw for the various events such as individual kata, individual kumite, team kata and team kumite will be held on March 1.
Last year’s tournament attracted 135 karatekas from 27 primary and secondary schools around the country.
Hosts Dominican Convent, who are nicknamed DC Wolves, are yet again expected to field a strong team during the competition.
Dominican Convent karatekas, who are coached by fifth dan black belt holder Nyanhete, are a powerhouse in local schools karate as their athletes regularly participate in high-profile tournaments, including the African Youth Games and Region V Championships.
