Organising Committee JKA European Championships
Dear Friends of Shotokan Karate, all Swiss karatekas warmly welcome you to Sursee! We are happy and proud to host such an important international karate event. Tommaso Mini and his team have done everything to ensure your stay will be memorable. Over the course of 728 years, Switzerland has grown into a multi-national community with 4 official languages and numerous religions and ethnic groups. To the visitor, Switzerland might seem full of contrasts, but thanks to a direct democracy, in which every adult citizen is required to take part in one way or another, we have lived in peace for over 150 years. Although Mother Nature did not give us much in the way of natural resources, we were given the great will to fight through poverty – at a time when we were once among the poorest countries in Europe – to become a flourishing economic stronghold today. As well as innovations, the Swiss love traditions. For example, although our cows are internationally renowned for their robustness and productivity in terms of agriculture, there is actually a lesser known traditional competition in which the cows actually compete against each other to test their strength. For us Swiss humans, one of the most popular individual sports is called « Schwingen ». The history of this sport goes back to the 13th century and is similar to judo. Strong men, known as the “the baddies”, compete in a sawdust ring. The winner is the one who manages to throw his opponent over on his back. During the finals more than 60‘000 spectators a day enjoy this competition. So, given the fighting nature of Swiss traditions, it is no wonder that karate has gained such popularity across the country. More than 20‘000 active karatekas are split into several associations, the Swiss Karatedo Renmei (SKR) representing the largest Shotokan association in Switzerland.We are hoping for exciting, fair and accident-free competition in Sursee and we hope you go home with great memories.
On behalf of the Organising Committee, I would like to thank JKA Europe for the trust they have placed in us. The Swiss Karate Do Renmei is proud to host and organise the JKA European Championships for the first time and it is a great honour for us to welcome the JKA Europe family to Switzerland. The Swiss Karate Do Renmei was founded in 1969. Since then JKA Karate has been taught and increased in popularity all over Switzerland. The large town of Sursee is a convenient event location. The city of Lucerne, one of the most beautiful in Switzerland, is nearby, and Zurich airport is about an hour’s drive away. Our venue in Sursee, The Stadthalle, with around 1000 seats, provides ideal facilities. We have chosen Campus Hotel Sursee as our Headquarters Hotel. With its 66 seminar and meeting rooms, 550 hotel rooms and 5 restaurants, it offers everything you need to make your stay here in Switzerland comfortable and enjoyable. We are delighted that the whole JKA family will be with us at the Campus Hotel! We wish all participants and officials a great championship and a pleasant stay in Switzerland.