Malta, beautiful as always.
Mar 30, 2024
4 min read
Updated: Apr 14, 2024
The WKA (World Karate-Do Alliance) World Karate Championships were held from 22-24.03.2024 in Malta. As always, this was a very positive experience. Over 1000 athletes from various countries competed in this event. This showcased how much of an international sport karate is, celebrating the different cultures and countries that hold karate as its discipline and passion. Our success is linked to the experience we gained from competing at such a high level championship.
Over 30 countries competed at this championship, including the United States, Ireland, Nigeria, Brazil, Ukraine, Poland, Wales, Nepal, Azerbaijan, Italy, Scotland, England, Germany, France, Egypt, Algeria and many many more. This showcases how universal and wide spread our sport is.As usual, our trip began with us meeting at the airport. Our time at airport went very smoothly. The 3.5hr flight to Malta went very quickly. At the airport we were greeted by our driver of our private transfer bus, which took us to the hotel. After our check in, 12 of us went to the beach for some free time and some relaxation. I on the other hand made my way to the registration desk to check in our athletes for the championship. When we all returned to the hotel we made our way to dinner, had a motivational talk, showered and went to bed for a well deserved rest. The next day we woke up early, had breakfast and made our way to explore Malta, we later had lunch. All our evenings looked the same, dinner, a motivational talk, shower and bed. The three days at the championship looked similar, waking up early, breakfast, transfer to the hall, competing at the event, lunch, transfer back to the hotel, dinner and bed. Our club, Sport Karate Coalition, represented 12 competitors. We competed in kata and kumite categories, both individually and in teams.
We’ve come home with amazing results, everyone should be proud of their achievements! 🇲🇹 We would like to give a huge thank you to Shihan Krzysztof Chałupka from International Karate Association Poland for making our starts in this competition possible.
In Malta we represented International Karate Association Poland, our teams put together earned us 5th place in the overall ranking from the championships. A huge accomplishment!
Once again, congratulations to all our athletes! A big thank you to Tamara Lipinska who was in charge of our media throughout this trip, as well as being an assistant group leader.Medal Summary: 🥇x7🥈x11🥉x10Jacek Lipinski
🥇Individual Male Seniors Shobu Ippon Kumite🥋
🥇Individual Veteran Male Shobu Sanbon Kumite
Calypso Simonian, Ola J (International Karate Association Poland) & Anika T (International Karate Association Poland)
🥇Team Female Junirs Shobu Sanbon Rotation Kumite
Julia B
🥇 Individual Girls Kata 8 years old
🥇 Individual Girls Kumite 8 years old
Maja W, Alexandra J (International Karate Association Poland) & Lena S (International Karate Association Poland)
🥇 Team Female Juniors Shobu Ippon Kumite
Maja W, Lena S (International Karate Association Poland) & Lena D (International Karate Association Poland)
🥇 Team Female Juniors Shobu Sanbon KumiteCalypso Simonian
🥈Individual Female Juniors Kata Julia B, Sarah S, Liliana S
🥈 Team Girls Kata 9 years oldLiliana S
🥈 Individual Girls Kumite 8 years oldNikola W
🥈 Individual Girls Cadets KumiteJagoda W, Maja W & Oliwia T
🥈 Team Girls Cadets Kata
Maja W
🥈 Individual Female Cadets Shobu Ippon KumiteCleopatra S, Ottilie V, Antonina Z (Hurricane Shotokan Karate Club Walton-On-Thames)
🥈 Team Female Juniors Shobu Ippon KumiteCleopatra S, Ottilie V, Antonina Z (Hurricane Shotokan Karate Club Walton-On-Thames)
🥈 Team Female Juniors Shobu Sanbon KumiteJakub W
🥈 Individual Male juniors Shobu Ippon KumiteJacek Lipinski, Krzysztof Chałupka (International Karate Association Poland), Tomek Stellmach (Hurricane Shotokan Karate Club Walton-On-Thames)
🥈 Team Veteran Male Shobu Sanbon Rotation KumiteJacek Lipinski, Krzysztof Chałupka (International Karate Association Poland), Tomek Stellmach (Hurricane Shotokan Karate Club Walton-On-Thames)
🥈 Team Veteran Male Kata
Jacek Lipinski & Krzysztof Chałupka (International Karate Association Poland)
🥉 Pairs Veteran Male Kata
Calypso Simonian & Anika T (International Karate Association)
🥉 Pairs Female Juniors Kata (17+ years old)
Calypso Simonian
🥉Individual Female Juniors Shobu Ippon Kumite
Julia B & Liliana S
🥉 Pair Girls Kata 8 years old
Liliana S
🥉 Individual Girls Kata 8 years old
Sarah S
🥉 Individual Girls Kata 9 years oldOttilie V
🥉 Individual Female Cadets Shobu Ippon KumiteOliwia T, Lena S (International Karate Association Poland), Anika T (International Karate Association Poland)
🥉Team Female Juniors Shobu Sanbon Rotation Kumite
Oliwia T
🥉 Individual Female Cadets Shobu Ippon KumiteJakub W
🥉 Individual Male Juniors KataConclusion:
At the championship we were one family, all helping each other, sometimes we understood each other without using words. We explored a part of Malta; we gained an immense amount of experience. We returned home happy and satisfied. For every competitor, participating at such a big championship is an incredible step forward for them, they begin to think differently, and they begin to understand at what level their karate is truly at. At the end of the championship, we had the opportunity to exchange club tops and club tracksuits with other karate teams. A huge congratulations to all the referees for their work, especially Lucienne Galea who led the team. A huge congratulations to the organizers of this competition, Chris Galea, and the WKA President, Orang Ranjbar. The next large scale WKA event will be the European Karate Championships next year.
Malta looks amazing!I would like to go there for a karate competition one day.It would be a great experience.
Great job to all of you. This seemed like a wonderful experience. I hope all of you had the greatest time ever at the competition and Malta.I wish i could have come.
Malta, this wonderful island, became the host to incredible athletes from around the world. This time, we joined forces: Sport Karate Coalition and IKA Poland, creating something truly special. It was an unforgettable experience, especially thanks to the collaboration with amazing athletes from London, led by Master Jacek Lipiński.
Our paths crossed once again—this time on Maltese soil. It is both an honor and a great pleasure to compete and share this passion with a legend of world karate, Sensei Jacek Lipiński.
Big Osu for the shared competition and these unforgettable moments!
This competition was great! I have made a lot of friends from many countries and it has given me a lot of experience in what professional karate looks like. I hope to go on another competition like this again, thank you.
This was my first competition overseas and I hope it will not be my last. It was very fun and i met many new people. i think that i was a great oppurtunity.I didn’t win many medals but it helped with my confidence and i improved a lot in my eyes. it was very fun and i made many memories here