A delegation of seven athletes and five officials from the Malawi Karate Federation, formerly Malawi Karate Uniom, has departed for Zambia and Zimbabwe on Thursday, 7 November 2024 where they will compete in the Lusaka Karate Open Championship on 9 November in Lusaka, Zambia, and the Kurai Open Championship on 16 and 17 November in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The Malawi Karate Federation is taking part in these tournaments as one way of preparing for the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Youth Games, set to take place in June, 2025 in Namibia.
The Kurai Open Championship will be the first international competition for the Malawi Karate Federation.
Joseph Kawerama, President of the Malawi Karate Federation, expressed his gratitude to the Malawi National Council of Sports for the support and emphasized the importance of this opportunity for both the athletes and officials.
“These games will help assess our athletes and offer our judges, referees, and coaches valuable training experiences. We have arranged joint training sessions with the Dentokan Karate Association and the Zambian Martial Arts Federation (ZamAF) on 10 and 11 November, focusing on Kumite and Kata techniques. We’ll then travel to Harare on 12 November for a three-day training session with the Zimbabwe Karate Federation to prepare for the Kurai Championship on 16 and 17 November.” explained Kawelama
“We’ve also scheduled a meeting with Mr. Joe Rugwete, President of AUSC Region 5 – Karate, also known as United Federation of African Karate Region South, and his executive team. The goal is to discuss karate development in Malawi and strengthen our relationship with the World Karate Federation.” He added
The athletes representing Malawi include Mozamil Sitande, Chimwemwe Lemon, and Joseph Ng’ona in the boys’ category, and Samantha Mwamondwe, Pempho Datchi, Catherine Chawinga, and Maureen Justine in the girls’ category. They will compete in the 16-17 age division.
The official delegation consists of Mr. Joseph Kawelama (Country Representative), Mr. Chikondi Mwamlima (Official), Mr. Kelvin Chimdima (Interim Chief Referee), Mr. Kevin Mwale (Senior Athlete and Junior Coach), and Mr. Yoseph Chawinga (Senior Athlete and Junior Coach).