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Advertise Directories Natural Venues Guide Convention Centers Guide SPORTReport bright spot was that the number of "casu- al" participants in martial arts rose about 7 percent. For karate in general, the situation seems to be similar. Myers, who said he's done "just about every job for USA Karate there is," indicates membership in karate schools across the nation have been down and that, according to one martial arts association, some 6,000 martial arts schools have gone out of business since 2008. "Despite that, we've [USA-NKF] seen positive growth," reiterated Myers. USA- NKF's numbers are as gaudy as they were in 2009 but its USA Open and Junior Olympic participation was up a healthy 14 percent this year. "I think one of the biggest reasons for its growth is that we have developed at USA Karate a crack team of people putting the major events together. We have exceptionally well-run events. Our USA Open has grown to more than 2,300 competitors this year. It's become the world's largest World Karate Federation sanctioned event." The World Karate Federation is the international governing organization for the sport of karate. It's based in Europe. The nonprofit USA-NKF is recognized by WKF and has been a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) since 1996. It is the recognized governing body for the sport in the United States, and a USA-NKF athlete has gar- nered every World Championship medal won by the United States in the past 15 years, according to the organization's website. The implication of all this is that total regular participation in the sport has been declining while participation in competi- tions at the highest levels has grown signif- icantly. But Myers claims that karate schools are now coming back quite strong. That renewed growth in karate participa- tion overall, according to Brody Burns, director of tournament operations for USA Karate, attributes not so much to any par- ticular initiatives the organization has taken, but to the same time-honored values the sport has always been associated with. "Karate is a sport that will help your kid www.sportseventsmagazine.com develop as a good athlete, as a sportsman, and with good life skills," Burns said. "Karate, more than most sports, has histor- ically been about character development. I think that's the reason we're seeing growth." Competition Venues Local and regional USA-NKF-sanctioned competitions are held in high school gyms, hotels, churches and commercial sports facilities all over the nation. Its USA Open competition has been held at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas for the past decade, and the organization is committed there through 2015. The Junior Olympic compe- titions have been held there for a half- dozen years but are not locked in for the future. It is the national championships, U.S. team trials and seven or eight other large competitions that offer the most opportunity for host cities. The largest of these have several days of pre-competition events and four days of competition. USA-NKF officials have clear ideas about the type of cities and venues prefer- able for major competitions. "We consider karate an upper-echelon sport," Myers said. "We always want a very nice hotel and are also concerned about what the host city has to offer the families of our athletes in terms of recreation and entertainment and using it as an actual vacation spot. For lots of families that have come to competitions year after year, they're looking for something where they can take a week off and make this one of their family vacations every year." Burns agreed. "Because the majority of our participants are kids, we look for someplace that's going August 2012 33 "I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST REASONS FOR ITS GROWTH IS THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED AT USA KARATE A CRACK TEAM OF PEOPLE PUTTING THE MAJOR EVENTS TOGETHER. WE HAVE EXCEPTIONALLY WELL-RUN EVENTS." —Darren Myers, USA Karate to be family friendly—even though our largest competition each year, short of the Nationals, is in Las Vegas. We look for a city that can provide something for our participants and their families to do." Burns said USA-NKF's major events have an economic impact on a city of roughly $4 to $4.5 million, an amount he deems unlikely to excite the very largest cities but will thrill mid-sized cities like Arlington, Texas; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and Greenville, S.C.—all cities that have hosted USA-NKF cities in recent years. He cited Greenville as a nice location, for USA Karate ▼