September 2024
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: 2025 GB National Championships
27 September. 2024 • Category: Competition | GB Nationals | Points Fighting | Light Contact | Kick Light | Musical Forms
The Kickboxing GB Governing Body is excited to announce several important updates for the 2025 National Championships. These changes are designed to enhance the experience for all involved and ensure a smooth, well-organized event.
New Divisions for 2025:
We are introducing a new 52kg division for junior boys aged 16-18, available in Points, Kick Light, and Light Contact categories. Please note that this division is specific to the 2025 Nationals and will not serve as a qualification spot for the GB team.
Additionally, we are pleased to announce the inclusion of Light Contact for the CH age group (7-9 years old), providing younger athletes with more competition opportunities.
Important Changes for the 2025 Championships:
Registration through R-Sportz:
All registrations for the 2025 Championships will be managed via the R-Sportz platform.
Coaches must register on the platform and upload a profile photo to their account. Only coaches with completed registration, including an uploaded photo, will be issued a coach's lanyard required for access to the competition areas.
Each athlete must also have a profile photo uploaded on R-Sportz to ensure smooth identification and organization during the event.
Competitor and Coach Zones:
To maintain a focused and professional competition environment:
Only registered competitors and coaches will be allowed in the fighting zones.
Each team can assign 1 coach per 5 athletes attending the event.
Adequate Coach Coverage and Timing:
Due to the growth of the Championships and Kickboxing GB, we emphasize the need for teams to have enough coaches for their athletes. We will not be able to delay bouts to wait for coaches.
In line with international standards, a 2-minute timer will be in place for coaches to be tatami-side with their fighter. Research from
previous championships shows that this policy could save over an hour per tatami, ensuring a more efficient event.
Referee Encouragement for Clubs:
While not compulsory, we highly encourage each team to bring at least 1 referee to the championships. This will help the event run more smoothly and contribute to the growth, development, and professionalism of the GB kickboxing community.
These changes are aimed at enhancing the quality of the 2025 National Championships while ensuring a fair and organized competition. We look forward to welcoming all athletes, coaches, and spectators to what promises to be an exciting tournament.
Thank you for your continued dedication to kickboxing and to Kickboxing GB.
Kickboxing GB
New Divisions for 2025:
We are introducing a new 52kg division for junior boys aged 16-18, available in Points, Kick Light, and Light Contact categories. Please note that this division is specific to the 2025 Nationals and will not serve as a qualification spot for the GB team.
Additionally, we are pleased to announce the inclusion of Light Contact for the CH age group (7-9 years old), providing younger athletes with more competition opportunities.
Important Changes for the 2025 Championships:
Registration through R-Sportz:
All registrations for the 2025 Championships will be managed via the R-Sportz platform.
Coaches must register on the platform and upload a profile photo to their account. Only coaches with completed registration, including an uploaded photo, will be issued a coach's lanyard required for access to the competition areas.
Each athlete must also have a profile photo uploaded on R-Sportz to ensure smooth identification and organization during the event.
Competitor and Coach Zones:
To maintain a focused and professional competition environment:
Only registered competitors and coaches will be allowed in the fighting zones.
Each team can assign 1 coach per 5 athletes attending the event.
Adequate Coach Coverage and Timing:
Due to the growth of the Championships and Kickboxing GB, we emphasize the need for teams to have enough coaches for their athletes. We will not be able to delay bouts to wait for coaches.
In line with international standards, a 2-minute timer will be in place for coaches to be tatami-side with their fighter. Research from
previous championships shows that this policy could save over an hour per tatami, ensuring a more efficient event.
Referee Encouragement for Clubs:
While not compulsory, we highly encourage each team to bring at least 1 referee to the championships. This will help the event run more smoothly and contribute to the growth, development, and professionalism of the GB kickboxing community.
These changes are aimed at enhancing the quality of the 2025 National Championships while ensuring a fair and organized competition. We look forward to welcoming all athletes, coaches, and spectators to what promises to be an exciting tournament.
Thank you for your continued dedication to kickboxing and to Kickboxing GB.
Kickboxing GB
GB Grand Slam going from strength to strength
A huge congratulations to everyone involved in making the GB Grand Slam at Birmingham University a success! As one of Kickboxing GB's sanctioned events, it was incredible to witness competitors, coaches, and referees traveling from all over the country to come together and showcase their skills and passion. We hope everyone made it home safely!
Special recognition goes to the core team of organizers: Ian Watkins, Andy Cleeves, Sean McCarthy, Tony Anderton, and Jacey Cashman. Their dedication, teamwork, and attention to detail have been instrumental in growing the GB Grandslam series. These individuals aren't just partners—they're leaders within the community who bring the sport to life with their commitment and drive for excellence.
Since the inaugural event in 2018, the GB Grandslam has grown to host 14 tournaments, with an impressive 11,621 entries from 530 clubs. These are incredible numbers for a national series of GB-only tournaments and a testament to the strength and unity of our kickboxing community.
We also extend our gratitude to everyone who plays a vital role in making these events possible—the clubs, coaches, competitors, parents, officials, and helpers. Your support, effort, and passion ensure that each event not only meets WAKO standards but also inspires future champions. While these may not be world championships, they are platforms where dreams begin, and that's the power and success we aim to cultivate.
With our sights set on 2025, we are committed to building on this momentum and taking the GB Grand Slam to even greater heights. We thank you all for your continued support and look forward to the exciting journey ahead!
GB Grand Slam - 2025 Dates for Your Diaries:
Western Event – Bath University Sports Training Village (BA2 7PJ): 26th-27th April 2025
Southeastern Event – K2 Crawley (RH11 9BQ): 28th-29th June 2025
Central Event – TBC, University of Birmingham Sport & Fitness (B15 2TT): TBC, September 2025
Northern Event – TBC, 2025
Stay tuned for more updates, including details on league winners.
Gurjit Gallon
Special recognition goes to the core team of organizers: Ian Watkins, Andy Cleeves, Sean McCarthy, Tony Anderton, and Jacey Cashman. Their dedication, teamwork, and attention to detail have been instrumental in growing the GB Grandslam series. These individuals aren't just partners—they're leaders within the community who bring the sport to life with their commitment and drive for excellence.
Since the inaugural event in 2018, the GB Grandslam has grown to host 14 tournaments, with an impressive 11,621 entries from 530 clubs. These are incredible numbers for a national series of GB-only tournaments and a testament to the strength and unity of our kickboxing community.
We also extend our gratitude to everyone who plays a vital role in making these events possible—the clubs, coaches, competitors, parents, officials, and helpers. Your support, effort, and passion ensure that each event not only meets WAKO standards but also inspires future champions. While these may not be world championships, they are platforms where dreams begin, and that's the power and success we aim to cultivate.
With our sights set on 2025, we are committed to building on this momentum and taking the GB Grand Slam to even greater heights. We thank you all for your continued support and look forward to the exciting journey ahead!
GB Grand Slam - 2025 Dates for Your Diaries:
Western Event – Bath University Sports Training Village (BA2 7PJ): 26th-27th April 2025
Southeastern Event – K2 Crawley (RH11 9BQ): 28th-29th June 2025
Central Event – TBC, University of Birmingham Sport & Fitness (B15 2TT): TBC, September 2025
Northern Event – TBC, 2025
Stay tuned for more updates, including details on league winners.
Gurjit Gallon
Concussion Guidelines for Kickboxing GB
The rules surrounding the minimum suspension periods following a head injury during a competitive bout are outlined in WAKO’s official medical rules document, which can be accessed here:
https://wako.sport/.../04/WAKO-Medical-Rules-v3-30012021.pdf
It is crucial for all coaches to familiarise themselves with these protocols. The suspension periods are applicable not only during competitions but also in instances where a knockout or concussion occurs during training or even in unrelated activities (e.g., if the coach is informed that their fighter has suffered a concussion or knockout while participating in another sport).
Club coaches bear a duty of care to their athletes, and it is your responsibility to report any incidents of concussion to the National Federation (i.e., Kickboxing GB). Kickboxing GB is, in turn, responsible for ensuring that all knockouts and concussions are reported to the International Federation, WAKO IF.
The suspension periods following concussions are as follows:
• Concussion without loss of consciousness: The athlete is restricted from training or competing for 30 days.
• Loss of consciousness lasting less than one minute: The athlete is restricted from training or competing for 90 days.
• Loss of consciousness lasting more than one minute: The athlete is restricted from training or competing for 180 days.
Please note that these suspension periods represent the minimum duration and cannot be shortened, even if a head scan or other tests show no visible injuries. After the mandatory medical restriction period, the kickboxer must provide medical clearance (a new medical certificate) through the National Federation, confirming their fitness to compete.
The medical clearance must be written in English and include the date of the brain CT or MRI scan, along with a confirmation that the results were negative. A copy of this clearance must be submitted to WAKO's Medical, Health & Anti-Doping Committee in order for the kickboxer to participate in future WAKO events.
In addition to WAKO’s concussion management policies, we would also like to highlight the UK government’s concussion guidelines, which now apply across all grassroots sports.
The UK grassroots protocol emphasises a safety-first approach with the guideline: “If in doubt, sit them out.” This means that anyone suspected of having sustained a concussion should be immediately removed from play and is not permitted to return to sport within the first 24 hours.
The graduated return to play process begins with increasing tolerance for both mental and physical activity (e.g., a return to work or light, non-contact training). If symptom-free after 14 days, full training can be considered.
Athletes may return to competition no earlier than 21 days post-injury, provided they have been symptom-free both at rest and during full training for at least 14 days.
During the graduated return process, medical advice should be sought via NHS 111 if symptoms worsen or fail to improve within 14 days. Anyone experiencing symptoms beyond 28 days must stay out of sports and seek further medical advice from their GP.
For an overview of the protocol, please refer to our educational hub:
https://www.kickboxinggb.com/Educ.../Concussion%20Guidelines
In addition to the educational content on our website, we highly encourage all coaches to familiarise themselves with concussion recognition and the appropriate responses to suspected cases.
The UK Coaching platform offers excellent resources on concussion management, safe practice, and a coach’s duty of care. They also provide a Sports England-funded digital badge that focuses on key areas such as diversity, inclusion, mental health and well-being, physical well-being, safeguarding, and safe practice:
https://www.ukcoaching.org/concussion
We kindly request all club coaches to ensure this vital information is communicated to your staff and members.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Gordon Mitchell
KBGB Welfare Director
https://wako.sport/.../04/WAKO-Medical-Rules-v3-30012021.pdf
It is crucial for all coaches to familiarise themselves with these protocols. The suspension periods are applicable not only during competitions but also in instances where a knockout or concussion occurs during training or even in unrelated activities (e.g., if the coach is informed that their fighter has suffered a concussion or knockout while participating in another sport).
Club coaches bear a duty of care to their athletes, and it is your responsibility to report any incidents of concussion to the National Federation (i.e., Kickboxing GB). Kickboxing GB is, in turn, responsible for ensuring that all knockouts and concussions are reported to the International Federation, WAKO IF.
The suspension periods following concussions are as follows:
• Concussion without loss of consciousness: The athlete is restricted from training or competing for 30 days.
• Loss of consciousness lasting less than one minute: The athlete is restricted from training or competing for 90 days.
• Loss of consciousness lasting more than one minute: The athlete is restricted from training or competing for 180 days.
Please note that these suspension periods represent the minimum duration and cannot be shortened, even if a head scan or other tests show no visible injuries. After the mandatory medical restriction period, the kickboxer must provide medical clearance (a new medical certificate) through the National Federation, confirming their fitness to compete.
The medical clearance must be written in English and include the date of the brain CT or MRI scan, along with a confirmation that the results were negative. A copy of this clearance must be submitted to WAKO's Medical, Health & Anti-Doping Committee in order for the kickboxer to participate in future WAKO events.
In addition to WAKO’s concussion management policies, we would also like to highlight the UK government’s concussion guidelines, which now apply across all grassroots sports.
The UK grassroots protocol emphasises a safety-first approach with the guideline: “If in doubt, sit them out.” This means that anyone suspected of having sustained a concussion should be immediately removed from play and is not permitted to return to sport within the first 24 hours.
The graduated return to play process begins with increasing tolerance for both mental and physical activity (e.g., a return to work or light, non-contact training). If symptom-free after 14 days, full training can be considered.
Athletes may return to competition no earlier than 21 days post-injury, provided they have been symptom-free both at rest and during full training for at least 14 days.
During the graduated return process, medical advice should be sought via NHS 111 if symptoms worsen or fail to improve within 14 days. Anyone experiencing symptoms beyond 28 days must stay out of sports and seek further medical advice from their GP.
For an overview of the protocol, please refer to our educational hub:
https://www.kickboxinggb.com/Educ.../Concussion%20Guidelines
In addition to the educational content on our website, we highly encourage all coaches to familiarise themselves with concussion recognition and the appropriate responses to suspected cases.
The UK Coaching platform offers excellent resources on concussion management, safe practice, and a coach’s duty of care. They also provide a Sports England-funded digital badge that focuses on key areas such as diversity, inclusion, mental health and well-being, physical well-being, safeguarding, and safe practice:
https://www.ukcoaching.org/concussion
We kindly request all club coaches to ensure this vital information is communicated to your staff and members.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Gordon Mitchell
KBGB Welfare Director
GB Topping the medal table
27 September. 2024 • Category: Kickboxing GB | World Championships | Juniors | Points Fighting | Light Contact | Ringsport | Kick Light
Topping the medal table at the 2023 Euros was a remarkable achievement, but doing it again at the 2024 WAKO Youth World Championships is truly incredible. The dedication, resilience, and spirit shown by our athletes, coaches, and support staff have made this dream a reality. We also want to pay tribute to the parents; without their unwavering support and commitment, none of this would have been possible. Together, we have accomplished something very special, and Kickboxing GB would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you.
