The British Kickboxing Council (BKC) has been working for almost ten years to earn recognition both for the sport and for ourselves as its National Governing Body under the Sports Councils here in the UK. More than that, though, we have been working tirelessly to set and raise standards across the board, making the sport both safer and more enjoyable; bringing together organisers and promoters from around the country under one banner for the first time.

Recently, we began working with Sport England and the NSPCC on the creation and delivery of the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts, based on our efforts with the Kitemark for Clubs. The goal of the Kitemark is to help Kickboxing clubs to meet (and ultimately exceed) minimum standards in areas such as Safeguarding, Health & Safety, Community Engagement and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.

In line with this drive to make the sport more accessible and build upon the amazing sessions already being delivered by coaches up and down the UK, we have been working with 1st4sport on Coaching and Officiating qualifications, as well as endorsed learning provisions for Safeguarding, Health & Safety, Event Management and more.

We are also working with providers to develop sport-specific accreditation which aims to help bout-side medics to understand what is expected of them at events (beyond their already substantial medical training). This includes improving training for officials and ensuring a better understanding of the duties and responsibilities placed upon everyone involved in the running of a tournament.

Going forwards, we will be looking to rekindle our working relationship with NDCS and UK Deaf Sport as we endeavour to make Kickboxing a more welcoming and accessible place for deaf children and athletes alike, incorporating this into a brand new (as-yet-unannounced) grassroots program aimed at creating a stronger link between the sport and the education sector. The goal is to encourage both greater physical activity and stronger community values from a young age, as well as providing a pathway to competitive success, coaching/officiating qualifications and other sport-related opportunities as they grow.

In addition to opening the sport itself up to more people, the Executive Board are always looking for ways to expand our team with new talent, whether that be official roles such as Community Managers or Grassroots Development Officers, or by welcoming the advice of Non-Executive Directors. New voluntary positions and advisory roles are being made available on a regular basis as we grow and seek to add more exciting programs to our existing list of projects.

Finally, the BKC will once again be hosting a Unified British Championships, which we hope will bring together as many leading figures in the sport as possible, along with commercial partners and sponsors, to help make it an event like no other.