Dojo Reps,

Please use the attached Excel file registration form instead of the previous file I forwarded. AUSKF revised the form to reflect the correct registration fee of $50 per participant instead of $40.

Please complete the attached registration form and email back by March 2nd (Sun) to treasurer@sckf-kendo.org (cc'd here) and mail check payment made payable to Southern California Kendo Federation postmarked by 3/2/25 to the treasurer:

Kent Kawai 4045 West 173rd Place Torrance, CA 90504

Also, because of AUSKF requirements, please provide at least 1 shinpan and 2 volunteer shifts for every 5 participants. AUSKF is asking for good shinpan preferably high ranking and will provide up to a $600 stipend. We will also be discussing possible SCKF stipends for participants and volunteers at the March board meeting.

Lastly if we do not get enough Boku ni Yoru demo volunteers, we will be nominating participants.

Kevin Abe

Dear Federation Presidents:

It's come to our attention that we had a typo in the registration form for the 2025 AUSKF Junior Open National Championships in April.

Please note that the registration fee for the 2025 AUSKF Junior Championships is $50 per participant, as stated on the tournament website, not $40 per participant, as listed in the registration packet's line items on page 1.

Thank you for your understanding, and apologies for any confusion/inconvenience this may have caused.

Jarrod Hatakeyama
AUSKF Competition Committee

Dear Federation Presidents:

We are very excited to officially open registration for the 2025 AUSKF Junior Open National Championships!! This tournament will be held as follows:

Date: April 26-27, 2025
Location: Juanita High School - Kirkland, Washington (greater Seattle area)
Individual Divisions (Saturday - April 26th, 2025):
9 years old and younger
10-11 years old
12-13 years old
14-15 years old
16-18 years old
13-under years old girls
14-18 years old girls

Team Divisions (Sunday - April 27th, 2025):
5-person Boys' Team (13-18 years old)
3-person Girls' Team (18 years old and younger)
3-person Youth Team (both boys and girls - 11-years old and younger)

This tournament will be open to all AUSKF members 18 years and under as of January 1st, 2025, regardless of rank. Competitors’ age used for this tournament will be as of January 1st, 2025. All participants should be current (2025) AUSKF members on the date of the tournament.

Additional details, including recommended hotels and tournament rules, are listed on our website: https://auskf-jrnationals.com/

Shinpan Registration: We are asking each regional federation to nominate at least 1 eligible shinpan per every 8 participants entered in the tournament. "Eligible shinpan" are defined as being 4-Dan or above, in good standing as a shinpan with AUSKF / their regional federation, and regularly practicing kendo. Shinpan traveling outside of Washington state are eligible for a stipend of up to $600 cover travel and lodging. In order to ensure timely reimbursement to shinpan, please submit a list of nominated shinpan no later than March 15, 2025.

Volunteer Registration: Out-of-region federations (i.e. all federations aside from PNKF) are required to submit at least 2 "volunteer shifts" for every 5 participants entered into the tournament. Volunteer shifts are defined as 1 role (i.e. timer, score keeper, etc.) for 1/2 of a full day at the tournament (Saturday: 8a-1p or 1p-end | Sunday 8a-1p). Volunteers will be provided 1 free bento on the day they are volunteering (Saturday only).

Additional Notes

We will be holding a Bokuto Ni Yoru Kendo Kihon Waza Keiko Ho demonstration to start off the tournament, and are requesting each participating federation to nominate 4-8 kenshi to participate. Please share your federation representatives' names on the registration sheet.

Please feel free to reach out with any additional questions or concerns.

AUSKF Competition Committee

Dear SCKF Junior Kenshi & Parents!

The road to 2025 U.S. Junior Open Championships starts now!!! This year, the Junior Open will be held on April 26-27 in Washington state!

SCKF will conduct a monthly special junior practice focused on improving the kendo for our junior kenshi in preparation for the 2025 US Junior Championships, as well as to enhance the level of kendo for all of our SCKF Junior kenshi. We plan to hold our Junior Practices from 3:30-5:30pm on the same Saturday as the SCKF Meeting, and the first practice will be this Saturday, January 11th from 3:30pm at La Habra (Shotokyo) Dojo! (There will also be a godo geiko afterwards at 6pm.)

These practices will provide tailored instruction to each specific age groups, and the kenshi will be separated by age according to the following groups corresponding to the divisions of US Junior Championships as follows:

9 and Under
10-11 Years
12-13 Years
14-15 Years
16-18 Years
13 Years and Under Girls
14 Years and Up Girls

The practices will be open to all SCKF youth kenshi and will be led by many of our top SCKF senseis!! We look forward to seeing all of you next Saturday!

Regards,
Team SCKF Junior Coaching Staff