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S.P.O.R.T.S. 2012
BY T. WAYNE WATERS KARATE
Well-Run Events Lead To Rising Participation According to USA National Karate-
do Federation Director of Public Relations and Marketing Darren Myers, the amateur karate governing body's competition participation grew even as the U.S. economy hit hard times. "We saw tremendous growth in the years when the economy tanked in 2008 and 2009," said Myers, speak- ing specifically about tournament participation in USA National Karate-do Federation (USA-NKF), often referred to simply as USA
32 August 2012
Karate. "We expected that year that two of our signature events in Las Vegas, including the USA Open, would be down 10 percent. Instead, one event was up almost 100 percent and the other was up 40 percent. And we've seen nothing but positive growth since then. The Nationals we just finished in July was our largest ever."
Myers is hard pressed to explain why the spectacular growth experi- enced several years ago and such numbers for high-level karate compe-
tition belie other indicators for partic- ipation in the sport in general and for participation in martial arts overall. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) 2011 Participation Topline Report, participation in martial arts as a whole, counting those who participat- ed between a dozen and two dozen times a year but not counting mixed martial arts, dropped nearly 17 per- cent from the preceding year. The numbers were worse for those partic- ipating more regularly. The only
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