Riga to host around 500 karate athletes from 24 countries in October

From October 2 to 4, the Daugava Athletics Arena in Riga will host a major international full-contact karate event — the European Championship in the J16 and U21 age categories, combined with a European qualifying tournament for the World Championship. The event is organized by the Latvian Kyokushinkai Karate-do Federation in cooperation with the European Karate Organization.

Around 500 athletes from 24 European countries are expected to travel to Riga. In addition to the competitors, more than 300 representatives of national delegations — coaches, referees, officials and media — will take part. In total, the championship will bring together more than 800 athletes and delegation members.

Schedule

The event begins on October 2 with athlete registration, weigh-ins and other pre-competition procedures. The competitions themselves will take place on October 3 and 4. The program includes the European Championship for youth age groups as well as the adult qualifying tournament, held in kumite in men's and women's open weight categories, as well as in kata.

First event of this scale in Latvia

While Latvia has previously hosted international karate competitions of various levels, this is the first time the country has held a European Championship that combines youth title competitions with an adult qualifying tournament for the World Championship.

The adult competition carries particular sporting significance: the qualifying tournament in Riga will determine which athletes earn the right to represent Europe at the 14th World Championship in Japan in 2027. For Latvian athletes, the European Championship at home offers a rare chance to compete in front of their own supporters, while for Latvia's karate community it offers the opportunity to watch top-level European athletes, coaches and referees in person.