August 8, 2019
Martial arts exponents from all over south-east Queensland and NSW will be coming to the South Burnett this weekend.
They’ll be taking part in the fifth International Sports Karate Australia (ISKA) championships on Sunday in the Kingaroy State High School sports auditorium.
Up to 140 competitors are expected to take part in this year’s event, which will be a new attendance record according to organiser Geoff French.
Part of the attraction is that the World Championships will be held in Sydney next year, so many competitors are keen to gain competition experience ahead of it.
Another reason is the fact the championships offer competitors the opportunity to compete in local, State, national and international events, including pathways into professional competition circuits such as UFC.
And a third is the attendance this year of two American mixed martial arts stars, UFC veterans Brian Ebersole and Ben Nguyen.
Both fighters heard about the Kingaroy competition and believe grassroots events like it help develop and strengthen the sport.
The two fighters are keen to meet the public, sign autographs and pose for photos.
Geoff said competitors at this year’s event will range in age from four upwards, and there’ll also be an almost equal spread of men and women taking part.
They will also be competing in different disciplines and with different experience levels, which can produce very exciting contests and sometimes unexpected outcomes.
Geoff said he was excited to bring the contest back to the region for a fourth year, as well as the tourism benefits it brings.
“Support from the community and the South Burnett Regional Council has helped our Association grow into what it is today,” Geoff said.
“Having such high quality athletes in the South Burnett is rare, so I’d like to invite the community to come along and see some spectacular martial arts action.”
Doors will open at 8:00am on Sunday.
The competition will get underway at 9:00am and is expected to run until late afternoon.
