The tournament isn’t until Oct. 27th, but you can start preparing for Enso’s biggest event of the year today by taking these three action steps:

SIGN-UP TO VOLUNTEER
We’ll provide training for various tasks – we need lots of helping hands!

PREPARE FOR COMPETITION
Our special tournament-prep sessions are designed for students new to competition.

Event Information

TOURNAMENT DATE
Sunday, October 27, 2019

REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Tuesday, October 15, 2019

TOURNAMENT LOCATION
CSO Sports Multiplex
1301 E. 47th Street, Chicago, IL  60653

GENERAL SCHEDULE

• 7:30 AM: Judges and Volunteers Meeting
• 8:00 AM: Doors open for $5 general admission (free for seniors and kids aged 6 and below)
• 8:30 AM: Open Flag Kata event starts
• 9:00 AM: Other events begin according to schedule. Generally, the event will run in the following order:
  • Kihon (Basics) for the 4-12 year olds
  • Kata and Kumite for 4-12 year olds
  • Team Kata
  • Kata and Kumite for teens and adults
  • Team Kumite
• 10:00 AM: Welcoming Remarks
• 5:00 PM: We expect all events to conclude by approximately this time.

Specific event times will be sent out to competitors approximately a week before the tournament. Athletes should be dressed and ready to compete at least 60 minutes before their scheduled time.

SPECTATOR FEE
$5 per person
Seniors and Children under 6 are free
Athletes and spectators are welcome to stay and watch events throughout the day!

TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
https://chicagolandkaratedo.wixsite.com/2019challenge

Register to Compete

There are three steps to completing registration: (1) AAU Membership, (2) Event Forms, and (3) Event Payment.  The registration deadline is October 15, 2019.

AAU MEMBERSHIP
Purchase an AAU 2018 membership ($16 for youth; $29 for adults) through AAU’s website. Remember to note your membership number, which will be sent to you via email. **For beginner students who are ONLY competing in Kihon, Enso will purchase an AAU membership for them.**

FORMS
You may download the individual event and team event forms online, or you may pick up hardcopies at the front desk. We’ll have copies on hand at the Oak Park dojo as well. These may be submitted either in-person or by email to info@ensokarate.com.

PAYMENT
Calculate your total amount due for individual and any team events. You may pay online or in person with credit card, cash, or check made out to “Enso Karate.” The AAU membership should be purchased on your own.

CONFIRMATION
In the week before the tournament, you will receive confirmation of your registration and and have the opportunity to make any corrections.

Sign Up to Volunteer

Successful tournaments require many lending hands! We are looking for both volunteer referees (black belts ages 15+) as well as volunteers to help set-up, check-in participants, keep score, keep time, and many other tasks that will help this special event run smoothly.No experience is necessary, and we will provide training!

SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER

We love our volunteers, and we try to treat them right! We offer our referees and volunteers:

• TRAINING! Before the day of the tournament, we host a special 1-hour training for all CKC Referees (Sept. 29) and a special 1-hour training for all CKC Volunteers (Oct. 6). During this time, we outline roles and provide specialized training to your assigned tasks, including the electronic scoreboards.
• BREAKFAST & LUNCH! On the day of the tournament, we have a break room dedicated to our volunteers and officials. There, you’ll find continental breakfast as well as a full lunch (in past years, we’ve ordered trays of food from Chinatown).
• SPECIFIED “SHIFTS.” We know not everyone can volunteer for the whole day. At our tournament, you can designate a 4-hour window of time when you’d like to volunteer. For referees, we ask that you commit to the whole day if at all possible — but we’d rather have you for a half-day than not at all! Please click-through to the sign-up forms to see the options.
• VOLUNTEER T-SHIRT (tentative). We’re still working on finding a vendor that fits our budget, but we’re doing our best to offer our all our volunteers a free CKC t-shirt.
• FREE ADMISSION. In case it doesn’t go without saying, we don’t expect volunteers to pay tournament admission ($5). If you’re arriving at 8 AM to watch your child compete, but not volunteering until 1 PM — no worries! We’ll have your name on a list at the door, so we know not to charge you.

Prepare for Competition

Students should always train regularly (2x/week) if they can! In the weeks leading up to the tournament, we’ll try to practice some tournament situations during regular classes. But if you’re new to competition, we also recommend you attend one of our special tournament-prep sessions, where we’ll take a deeper dive into tournament rules, procedures, and etiquette.

CKC TOURNAMENT PREP SESSION 1
Saturday, September 21st
2-3pm
Register

CKC TOURNAMENT PREP SESSION 2
Sunday, September 29th
4-5pm
Register

Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS THE “2020 AAU NUMBER”? / DO I NEED TO REGISTER FOR AAU MEMBERSHIP IF I’M ONLY COMPETING IN THIS TOURNAMENT?
To compete in this tournament, a 2020 membership to the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is required — except for beginner students who are ONLY competing in Kihon, in which case Enso will purchase an AAU membership for them.

The fee for youth (17 and under) is $16. The fee for adults (18 and up) is $29. You can learn more about membership benefits and purchase a membership online at https://play.aausports.org.

The AAU membership can be used to compete in any other AAU event between September 2010 and August 2020.

WHAT ARE THE DIVISIONS? / WHY ARE THERE ONLY FOUR BELT COLORS LISTED?
This tournament uses AAU’s four ranking divisions, which wear only four belt colors (white, green, brown or black). AAU places athletes into these divisions based on the number of years they have trained, rather than by the rank they have earned. To make it easier for our students who haven’t competed previously, here is how the divisions break down:

• Beginners are competitors who have been training for less than 1 year, and they all wear white belts during the tournament regardless of their earned rank. Generally, these students may have earned a rank of 10th-7th kyu (white, yellow, orange and green belts).

• Novices are competitors who have been training for 1-2 years, and they all wear green belts during the tournament regardless of their earned rank. Generally, these students may have earned a rank of 6th-4th kyu (blue and purple belts).

• Intermediates are competitors who have been training for 2-4 years, and they all wear brown belts during the tournament regardless of their earned rank. Generally, these students may have earned a rank of 3rd-1st kyu (brown belts).

• Advanced competitors have been training for 4+ years, and they all wear black belts during the tournament. All dan ranks (black belts) must compete at the advanced level. Some of our more experienced brown belts who have been training for more than 4 years must also compete at the advanced level.

If you have any questions about which division you should register for, please ask Sensei Jay. Please make arrangements to buy or borrow a belt if you don’t have the right color in the right size for competition.

WHAT ARE THE “INDIVIDUAL EVENTS” ALL ABOUT, AND WHO SHOULD DO THEM?
Each athlete should complete one Individual Registration Form. Here is some information about events for which athletes may register:

• Kihon (Fee: $35), also known as “basics,” is only for Beginners age 12 and under. It involves performing basic techniques (e.g., stepping forward jodan punch, stepping back rising block). This is a great event to showcase your karate basics, power, and spirit! If your athlete cannot yet perform a kata on their own, this is the suggested event for them. **For beginner students who are ONLY competing in Kihon, Enso will purchase an AAU membership for them.**

• Individual Kata (Fee: $45). Most students compete in this event. It is an opportunity to display the student’s kata(s) that they work hard on in the dojo. This is a great event for youth and adults, at all levels!

• Open Flag Kata (Fee: $45). This event is only open to black belts ages 15 and up. Men and women each have one division of combined ages. It’s tough competition!

• Individual Kumite (Fee: $45). Recommended for students who have had experience in free sparring in the dojo. If you are unsure about participating, please speak to their instructor(s) before signing up. Required gear for kumite includes: mouthguard, fist guards, helmet (ages 17 and under; can be purchased or we will have some to borrow at the tournament), cup (for males).

WHAT ARE THE “TEAM EVENTS” ALL ABOUT, AND WHO SHOULD DO THEM?
If the athlete is competing in team kata or team kumite, they should also complete a Team Registration Form. Here is some information about team events for which athletes may register:

• Team Kata (Fee: $75 per team / $25 per athlete). Teams must consist of exactly three competitors. Teams may consist of all male, all female, or mixed genders. Athletes should find teams on their own. If you would like help finding a team, please let us know. 

• Family Team Kata (Fee: $75 per team). This is a very popular event among Enso families! Teams may consist of 2-5 family members, though the event fee will be the same regardless of the number of team members.

• Team Kumite (Fee: $75 per team / $25 per athlete). This event is open only to Intermediate and Advanced levels (brown and black belt competitors). Requires permission from Sensei Jay to register.

ON THE DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT, WHAT TIME SHOULD I ARRIVE?
One week prior to the tournament date, you will receive a schedule of event times. Athletes should be dressed and ready to compete at least 60 minutes prior to their scheduled event times to avoid rushing and allow time to warm-up. CKC tournaments have always run on time.