The World Karate and Kickboxing Commission (WKC) has recently announced that its Aberdeen Open competition will be moving to Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) in 2018 following the success of its 2016 and upcoming 2017 events.
The annual martial arts competition welcomes competitors from across the world to test their skills against the best of the best in their particular disciplines. First held in Aberdeen’s Beach Leisure Centre in 2016, the Aberdeen Open has experienced huge growth with numbers doubling year on year and fighters attending from all across Europe. The event is set to continue its growth with the move to AECC in 2018 when more than 2,000 competitors and visitors will attend to watch the competition from as far as Venezuela and Costa Rica.
As well as the annual Aberdeen Open, Aberdeen has been announced as the city of choice for the 2020 WKC World Championships set to welcome more than 10,000 visitors to the city when it takes place and all of the competitors at the Aberdeen Open events are working to ensure they are placed at the competition.
Malcolm Evans, President of WKC Scotland runs Lion’s Den Martial Arts Academy in Stonehaven and has continually worked to grow the profile of WKC in Scotland. A true lover of the sport and the North-east, Malcolm has championed the Aberdeen Open and this, along with the World Championships in 2020, will place Aberdeen as one of the top destinations for martial arts in the world.
At Lion’s Den, Malcolm has the opportunity to work with some of the rising stars of the sport in Aberdeen and having the Aberdeen Open at AECC from 2018 will allow these fighters to work towards their goals and enhance their skills.
Malcolm said, “Having being involved in martial arts for 27 years, I am really passionate about doing what I can to help promote the sport in Scotland and having the chance to let it flourish in my home city is something I am really excited about. The fighters at Lion’s Den are constantly working towards achieving their goal of competing at The World Championships and having the event on home ground with some of the best teams in the world is very motivating for the participants.”
Andrew Ewen, aged 16 and a Team Scotland representative at the 2016 World Championships from Lion’s Den commented, “The Aberdeen Open is a great opportunity for myself and my fellow fighters to compete against some of the best names in martial arts in Scotland and further afield. Having these types of events and seeing how successful they are becoming is great for the sport and it is real motivation for myself in my training for the World Championships. I can’t wait to compete at the event in 2020 here on home ground in Aberdeen with a local support behind me and the rest of our team.”
Anna Mackenzie, senior sales manager at AECC said, “We are very excited to be on board with the WKC Aberdeen Open over the next couple of years and are looking forward to the World Championships being held in the city in 2020, which is a fantastic event for the region. The event will bring a huge boost in economic benefit to the city over the next few years with local business and hotels noticing more footfall throughout the period of the events as visitors experience the city. The passion that Malcolm and WKC have for the event and the region is very inspiring and we look forward to working with them to continually grow the Aberdeen Open before The World Championships takes place in 2020.”
The 2017 Aberdeen Open will take place at Aberdeen Beach Leisure Centre on April 30 2017 and the 2018 event will take place at AECC on April 29 2018. More information on the event can be found at www.wkcworld.com/aberdeen-open-2017.