KIF would like to share the following information regarding the upcoming European Championship and related matters:

 

1. Regarding the European Championship in Bulgaria on October 4th

The Bulgarian Kudo Federation (BKF) has issued a General Information document for the upcoming European Championship on October 4th. It includes the following explanation regarding Junior divisions:

“U-16 will be divided into 4 male and 4 female divisions, U-13 will be divided into 5 male and 5 female divisions, U-11 and U-9 will be divided into 4 male and 4 female divisions. Age divisions determined by age on October 3, 2025.”

Although the European Kudo Committee has decided that the European Championship is to be held once per year, please note the following:

The 2025 European Junior Championship was already held in March in Lithuania.

The 2026 European Junior Championship is scheduled to take place in Poland around March.

Furthermore, the European Junior Cup in Malta has been approved and will be held on November 22nd of this year.

This time, as an exceptional case, the Kudo International Federation (KIF) has approved the inclusion of Junior categories (ages 8 and above) in the European Championship due to strong requests from BKF and the city of Burgas.

Please be advised that the European Junior Cup in November 2025 and the 2026 European Junior Championship in Poland will proceed as scheduled.

 

2. Senior (Masters) Division for Ages 45 and Above

The Senior (masters) division for competitors aged 45 and above will be conducted under the same provisional rules used at the World Cup.

These provisional rules were published in the KIF Official Website News on December 26, 2024:

Rules for Senior competitions at the World Cup in July 2025 – KUDO International Federation

After the October European Championship concludes, KIF will gather feedback from Senior competitors to prepare for the finalization of official rules for the Senior (Masters) category.

 

3. Point Ranking for the European Championship

For the World Cup, KIF had established a Point Ranking based on the results of international tournaments held during the preceding two years.

However, it became clear that this ranking was not applied in practice, resulting in disadvantages for certain athletes.

To avoid such issues, a dedicated point ranking for the European Championship has now been established and will be strictly applied:

Point rankings in Europe – KUDO International Federation