If It Was So Easy... EVERYONE Would Be Doing It!
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt

HOW TO HOST A
REGIONAL
FOR THE
IKF WORLD CLASSIC

AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
TOURNAMENT

So your thinking about being a REGIONAL Director/Promoter for the IKF Amateur Championships? Well, we would like to take a moment to say THANK YOU for being interested. We say this to begin with because hosting a REGIONAL Tournament is very different than Promoting a regular Kickboxing Event. There are of course advantages and disadvantages. Let us first start with what you need to determine and know.

1. WHEN do you want to HOST your Regional?
   • ALL regionals must be completed by JUNE 1st of each year.
     
     
2. WHERE will you hold the event? What venue, town and state? Keep in mind that you DO NOT need to host your regional at a PLUSH Casino or Expensive Event Facility. A "REGIONAL" Event can be hosted at your GYM. Yes, YOUR GYM. All we ask is for you to provide an opportunity for fighters to prove they are deserving to attend the IKF World Classic Championships. With this in mind, think again now about where you would like to host your Regional Event. Here is what you will need for the location;
   • An Official Boxing Ring (20' X 20').
   • Room for judges and officials tables on all 4 sides of the ring.
   • Officials Tables...(4-8)
   • Changing Rooms/Areas for both male and female fighters.
   • Ample space for fighters to warm-up before their bout.
   • Availability of seating a minimum of 150 spectators. We say 150 because these events do not draw large crowds. HOWEVER, they COULD if you market them right so plan accordingly as to what you feel you could draw.
   • Bathrooms with Showers for the fighters.
   • Amply lighting for the ring.
   • Weigh-in Scale.
   • IKF Booth or Table:
     • The IKF "Could" bring IKF merchandise to EVERY Regional Event to sell. However, some promoters would rather have their own merchandise to sell. If a table is provided for IKF sales, the sales income from these booths will go into the world Classic Awards fund for tournament medals and of course, our World Classic title belts which are over $250.00 each.
     • You as the Regional Promoter will receive 10% of all sales from this booth. This extra income to the IKF is a much needed part of the regionals and we thank you in advance for helping out.
   • These are just the main things you will need to have for your event.
     
     
3. YOUR REGION
   • The Regional territories need to be easy for fighters to attend in regards to distance for traveling to and from the event. In the past, their were only 8 Regions in USA. Regions OUTSIDE of USA vary as to territory and regions.
   • Your region and boundaries determine the area that you will draw fighters from. Once this is determined you will know where you need to market to. Marketing will include sending out fliers to all the Kickboxing Gyms, Clubs and Karate Schools... Yes, KARATE SCHOOLS. MANY Kickboxers who attend the Championship Finals train at Karate Schools. If we depended on just kickboxing gyms, the Championship Finals would be a VERY SMALL event.
     
     
   • HOW HARD YOU WORK at FINDING Your Fighters will determine the success of your tournament. Some promoters in the past just sat back and WAITED for people to come to them and sign-up just from magazine ads or the IKF Web Pages. They thought these things were enough.... WRONG!
     
     
   • You need to go out and WORK AT THIS. Sure, our website makes a lot of people aware of the Championship Finals Tournament along with Magazine ads, but you need to go out and register these fighters on your own. DON'T EXPECT them to come to you, you will need to go to them. Even after you mail out fliers to your region, ALWAYS follow this up with a phone call to those you mailed fliers to. As mentioned, some promoters in the past just sat and waited. Later wondering WHY they only had about 20-30 fighters register for their event.
     
     
4. REGIONAL REGISTRATION FEES
   • All fighters register with the Regional Promoter/Director directly paying between $25.00 and $35.00.
   • Do the math here. A Good Tournament will feature about 60 to 80 fighters. That's $1,500.00 to $2,000.00 in your pocket before the doors open. However, we now know it's highly possible for a Regional Event to draw 80+ participants. Add in your sponsor income, ticket sales & concession income and your regional should easily turn a profit. Oh and your expenses? Well, you won't be paying any fighters expenses (Travel, Hotel, Meals) which is a MAJOR PLUS, but you will have some. They are listed below.
     
     
5. EXPENSES
   • Unlike promoting a regular kickboxing event, you'll have a lot less expenses for your Tournament. As for the fighters, the regional tournaments are run just like in Amateur Boxing, they pay their own expenses. Your required expenses will include;
     • Bringing in your IKF Representative
       At your event this person will do a lot of work from assisting in final registration, weigh-ins, fighter bracketing, witness each and every fighters bout and last but not least, writing up your event article and sending in to the IKF Headquarters all the fighters stats and event results. Whoever this Representative is he/she must be pre-approved by the IKF.
       
       
     • Your IKF Representative "CANNOT" be from your region or have fighters on your event. You will be required to pay for their Tournament Regional Representative Fee ($200.00) PLUS their travel expenses, food and hotel room for the 2 nights they are there. We say 2 nights because they are most likely to come in the day before the event for your fighter registration and weigh-ins and leave the day after your event.
     • EVENT VENUE RENTAL
       Again, you don't need an expensive event facility. Your gym may be a great location.
     • OFFICIALS
       • You will provide the judges, referees, timekeeper and kick counters upon IKF approval of them. Because of this it's best to either bring in some IKF certified judges and referees OR at least offer an IKF Officials Seminar for all of your event Officials instructed by the IKF Representative coming to your event. The Seminar is best done the evening before your event. Depending on your arrangements, you may have to pay your referee a fee ($250-$500) since he will work the hardest of all your officials. You should also plan to pay some expense money for travel, hotel and food for these officials. You could also include an officials dinner which has been very successful for past Tournaments.
         
         
     • INSURANCE
       • Although each fighter is required to sign a release form, we suggest every promoter still have their event covered by insurance because you never know what can happen. To insure the event may cost between $450.00 to $700.00, sometimes even more depending upon state commission requirements or the venue you choose. This may be your largest expense. For information on the Official IKF Insurance Company please click HERE.
       • If you are serious about hosting a regional event, check with us about insurance. Sometimes your own Gym/School policy will cover your events as well. We suggest you look into this for your own protection. For fighter "Release of Liability Forms" Please click HERE!
       • For Medical-Physical forms, please click HERE!
         
         
     • MAILING & ADVERTISING
       • Plan to spend some money on mailings to all your area karate and kickboxing gyms/schools. Don't forget your phone bill as well. You will also have printing costs for Fliers, Posters and possibly event Tickets you sell.
         
         
     • RING
       • If you don't have a ring you will need to rent one. Rings rent between $400 up to around $1,000 for the day. If you think your tournament will take 2 days, make sure you can rent the ring for the same fee as 1 day. The only difference is in TIME and the cost of rental is more focused on setting up and tearing the ring down. If your ring crew is from out of town, plan to put them up in a hotel and cover their meals at least if you want to run the event over 2 days.
         
         
     • EQUIPMENT
       • "IF YOU REQUEST IT OF THE IKF" You will have ZERO Cost for your fight equipment. However, you must request to the IKF your need for fight gloves to use for your event, how many and what sizes. The IKF will ship you your fight gloves, shin pads and even headgear if you need it.
       • However, you will be asked to inform each fighter to bring their own (IKF Approved) Headgear."
         • "NO FULL JAW BAR ALLOWED.
         • CENTURY HEADGEAR IS NOT IKF APPROVED!
       • Your fighters will be required of course to provide all other mandatory equipment (Groin Cup & Mouth Piece). It would be good if you had extra headgear available if needed.
         
         
     • AWARDS
       • We request that at a very minimum you provide some type of medal award for your winners and at the least, a certificate to non winners.
       • As in any event, TROPHIES are more appreciated, especially since these fighters are paying YOU to participate in your Regional tournament.
       • BELTS are FAR too expensive to give out at a REGIONAL tournament, especially since you may have 20-30 Division winners.
       • If you need assistance in finding a good price for such medals, please contact us here at the IKF.
         
         
6. INCOME
   • You will be able to receive the following income:
     • FIGHTER REGISTRATION FEES:
       • Each fighter pays $25 to register for their Regional.
       • You will need to set your Regional Registration Deadline approximately 8-10 days prior to your event because you need to have a complete list of fighters sent to the IKF by e-mail (NOT ON A PDF SPREAD SHEET) which will include their name, city, state, fight record, weight, height, age, date of birth, trainers name, trainers contact number AND a copy of their actual regional registration form a *MINIMUM of 5 days prior to your event. This will give us enough time to create a full press release for your event with a fighter list.
         • (*) If not, you will be charged $5.00 per fighter MANDATORY late fee PLUS all ADDITIONAL EXPRESS mailing fees.
           
           
   • SPONSORSHIP
     • The IKF will allow you to have outside sponsorship as long as it is not a company already sponsoring the IKF for the IKF Amateur Tournament Circuit. The goal of EVERY Promoter is to "Have ALL your Expenses paid BEFORE you sell 1 spectator ticket." If not, you'll be worried about how much your losing instead of how the event is going.
       • Sell ad space on the fliers you plan to mail out to cover your mailing expenses.
       • Sell space on the posters, in your event programs.
       • Your ring corner cushions, banners at the fight.
       • The selling and attaining of financial sponsorship is the #1 Thing you should focus on for your event to be a success.
       • If you have your expenses covered it will give you more time to focus on registering fighters. Remember, each fighter is paying you $25 and you will earn every penny of it. Rather than scrap by, we'd like to see you make a great profit so you will be willing to provide the same opportunities for these fighters in your region in future years.
         
         
   • TICKET SALES
     • This needs little explaining. The only question is, how much? Well, if your planning a 2 day event, make sure you offer a 2 day discount. Ticket prices for a tournament are always less than on a regular kickboxing promotion. Offer some free tickets in your sponsorship packages as well. Remember, you need to give in order to receive...
       
       
   • CONCESSIONS
     • Depending on WHERE your Tournament will be held, you need to plan your concessions. Who gets what? Will the venue allow you to sell anything? Do they require you to pay them a percentage of sales? Do you get a percentage of what they sell? What will you sell? Snacks, hot dogs, sodas, etc. concessions is often a missed opportunity. don't miss out. Plan your sales with the number of fighters who register.
       
       
   • IKF SALES
     • As stated above, you will receive 10% of all sales from the IKF apparel and equipment booth if there is one at your Regional Tournament.
       
       
7. RULE STYLES
   • You will need to determine what RULE STYLES you want to feature at your regional. If you want to feature all of them, make sure you have an officials staff that is knowledgable in ALL of them. There are "3" different Rule styles in both Junior Amateurs (Ages 8-17) and Adult Divisions (Ages 18-40) for the tournament and they can be reviewed at these links;
     • Full Contact
     • International / Leg Kick
     • MuayThai
     • Junior Amateur
       
       
   • A KEY POINT HERE IS
     • The FORGOTTEN Market of Junior Fighters as well as Women Fighters.
     • The numbers keep growing every year for Junior Fighters!
     • What many don't see is the untapped market of both the Junior Fighters (Ages 8-17) as well as the many great Women Fighters in Muay Thai & Kickboxing. Those of you who attended the IKF Finals event will witness some GREAT BOUTS between the Women Fighters as well as all the Junior Fighters. If there ever was a division that seems to be unnoticed by many promoters, it's the Junior League of fighters out there who all have great family and school support. NO ONE has EVER tried to create a strong Junior Kickboxing program like the IKF Tournament has. This explains why Kickboxers don't get started until the ages of 16-25 most of the time. Because there is no arena for them at the earlier ages as in Amateur Boxing. Well now there is.
     • Make it your mission to register Junior Fighters in your Tournament. If not, your missing a major market of not only fighters but fans who want to come see them compete. And don't forget the Women Fighters. They've proved at past Finals Tournaments that they're VERY SERIOUS in this sport and they need our support. They, the Juniors, and of course every fighter has that Support from the IKF. The question is, do they have it from you? Don't forget about them....
     • From these numbers along with the Adult Men's registration numbers, we could someday have 3 individual Championship Tournaments. One for each rule style or a combination various ones instead of one tournament for all styles. This has been talked about quite a bit with one of the greatest advantages being the ability for 1 fighter to win 3 if not 4 Tournament Titles.
       
       
8. WEB PAGE
   • If you have a web page that can feature details about your regional let us know. Keep in mind that we will maintain a General Web Page for EACH REGIONAL here within the IKF web pages which is all included in your Director/Promoters Registration.
     
     
9. INTERNET ACCESS
   • It's a MUST that you have Internet Access to follow all the news and information about the Regionals. We make weekly updates regarding the Finals Tournament on our pages here at the IKF Website and it's important that you have access to this news all the time. Many fighters will have questions about your event and it's much easier for you and them to be able to communicate through e-mail and it also saves time and phone costs. E-mail is also the most efficient way for us here at the IKF to keep in contact with you as well. So if your not on the internet, we suggest you look into it.
     
     
10. REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SANCTIONING FEE
    
    
    • Fighters are NOT REQUIRED to attend your regional unless they WANT to attain a higher seeding at the World Classic in July.
      • Single State Regional Event
        • $250.00 Sanctioning Fee.
        • For each added State that you will soliciate for Fighters, the fee is $200.00 Per State.
          
          
    • ALL of these fees must be received here at the IKF Office by ***January 31st of the Regional Tournament Year to secure your region.
    • These will go on a first come, first approved basis.
      • (***) Some exceptions are made when tournaments are confirmed after this date.
    • You will need to to pick a date for your regional, if nothing else, the month of the event. If you have not done this, we need you to e-mail us your date ASAP.
    • When scheduling your event, keep in mind that ALL REGIONAL events must be completed by June 1st.
      
      
11. There are "2" Main reasons for this fee being implemented.
    • "Talk The Talk" or "Walk the Walk?"
      • Every year, we've had first time promoters who say they will host a regional but never made it happen for whatever reasons. This caused A lot of Problems back here with us with all the fighters who might have past up one regional in hopes of going to another. This is something we DO NOT want to EVER have happen again.