Salve Regina hosting Shotokan Karate Championships April 8-9

About 150 athletes representing 30 different clubs will compete in the 54th annual East Coast and Collegiate Shotokan Karate Championships this weekend at Salve Regina.

The two-day event on April 8-9, which is being organized by Salve Regina students, will include competition in multiple divisions, including seniors (age 45-plus), youths (ages 6-17), adult and collegiate.  All events will take place in the Rodgers Recreation Center.

The action will begin on Saturday morning with the youth events at 8:30 a.m., followed by adult events at 11 a.m. Collegiate competitions will be held Sunday beginning at 8 a.m.

Competition will be staged in individual kata (forms), individual kumite (sparring), team kata and team kumite. Competitors will be divided by gender and rank, with adults in brown and black belt divisions, and collegians in beginner, intermediate and advanced divisions.

Karate is a registered club sport at Salve Regina, founded and directed by Dr. JD Swanson, associate professor in the Department of Biology and Biomedical Sciences. The team practices weekly and travels year-round throughout the Northeast participating in the East Coast Collegiate Karate Union.

The club is also open to students without any karate experience. Swanson teaches movement and meditation as a University Seminar for freshmen, emphasizing the philosophy, biomechanics and history of martial arts.