1. TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
The technical committee will be composed of the ICSD Technical Director for Karate-Do and members appointed by the Organising Committee:

________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________

- ICSD Technical Director - WKF Representative - WKF Representative - Sports Liaison Officer - Deaf Representative

2. PROTEST COMMITTEE

________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________

- ICSD Technical Director - WKF Representative - WKF Representative - Sports Liaison Officer - Deaf Representative

3. EVENTS
The Karate Do competitions will comprise the following events:

MEN	WOMEN
Under 60kg 60 - 67kg 67 - 75kg 75 - 84kg Over 84kg	Under 50kg 50 - 55kg 55 - 61kg 61 - 68kg Over 68kg

4. PARTICIPANTS

4.1. Age Eligibility
All karate competitors must be at least 18 years old in 2013 (born in 1995 or before).

4.2. Each National Federation may enter maximum five (5) men and five (5) women with one contestant per weight category for the Deaflympics. No contestant is allowed to participate in more than one (1) weight category in one event.

4.3. Contestants shall be the holder of black belt (1st Dan or more) standing.

4.4. A fine of USD $20 is levied on each non-starting athlete with the exception of those presenting a doctor's declaration that he/she should not be allowed to start.

5. REGISTRATION

5.1. The preliminary registrations with an indication of the probable number of athletes in each event must be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 1 August 2008.

5.2. The final registrations with the names of each athlete indicating event entered must be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 1 August 2009. Such submissions will be made via official online registration form or telefax followed by the official registration form.

5.3. No changes or additional entries will be accepted after 1 August 2009.

6. VENUES

6.1. Competition Venue
The Karate Do competitions will take place at Taipei Nangang Sports Center on 3rd floor (3F).

6.2. Training Venue
The training venue will be the same as the competition venue on 6th floor (6F).

7. SCHEDULE

7.1. Competition Schedule
Refer to the competition schedule on the Games website.

7.2. Training Schedule
Refer to the training schedule on the Games website.

8. COMPETITION RULES AND REGULATIONS

8.1. Technical Organisation
ICSD is responsible for the technical organisation of the Karate Do competitions.

8.2. Competition Rules
The Karate Do competitions will be conducted in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the WKF (version 1 January 2009). In case of disagreement in the interpretation of the Rules and Regulations, the English text shall prevail. Unforeseen incidents not covered by the Rules and Regulations shall be dealt with as follows:

8.2.1. Cases of a general nature will be resolved in accordance with Deaflympics Regulations, General Technical Rules – Summer Deaflympics, and this Karate Technical Regulations.

8.2.2. Technical questions related to competition rules shall be resolved according to the WKF Rules and Regulations.

Only athletes who comply with the Deaflympics Regulations are entitled to take part in the Deaflympics Karate competitions.

8.3. Competition Equipment
The competition area must be flat and devoid of hazard.

8.3.1. The competition area will be a matted square, of a WKF approved type, with sides of eight metres (measured from the outside) with an additional two metres on all sides as a safety area. There will be a clear safety area of two metres on each side.

8.3.2. A line half a metre long must be drawn two metres from the centre of the competition area for positioning the Referee.

8.3.3. Two parallel lines each one metre long and at right angles to the Referee's line, must be drawn at a distance of one and a half metres from the centre of the competition area for positioning the competitors.

8.3.4. The Judges will be seated in the safety area, one directly facing the referee, and one behind each of the fighters, and one metre towards the Referee. Each will be equipped with a red and a blue flag.

8.3.5. The Arbitrator will be seated at a small table just outside the safety area, behind, and to the left of the Referee. He will be equipped with a red flag or sign, and a buzzer.

8.3.6. The score-supervisor will be seated at the official score table, between the scorekeeper and the timekeeper.

8.3.7. The one metre border should be in a different colour from the rest of the matted area.

8.4. Competition Uniform

• The karategi uniform must be white and clean without stripes or piping. The jacket, when tightened around the waist with the belt, must be of a minimum length that covers the hips, but must not be more than three-quarters thigh length. Female competitors may wear a plain white T-shirt beneath the Karate jacket. Contestants must bring two colour belts (red and blue).
• The maximum length of the jacket sleeves must be no longer then the bend of the wrist and no shorter than halfway down the forearm. Jacket sleeves may not be rolled up.
• The trousers must be long enough to cover at least two thirds of the shin and must not reach below the anklebone. Trouser legs may not be rolled up.
• Contestants must keep their hair clean and cut to a length that does not obstruct smooth bout conduct. Hachimaki (headband) will not be allowed. Should the Referee consider any contestant's hair too long and/or unclean, he may disbar the contestant from the bout. Hair slides are prohibited, as are metal hairgrips. Ribbons, beads and other decorations are prohibited. A discreet rubber band or pony tail retainer is permitted.
• Contestants must have short fingernails and must not wear metallic or other objects, which might injure their opponents. The use of metallic teeth braces must be approved by the Referee and the Official Doctor. The contestant accepts full responsibility for any injury.
• The following protective equipment is compulsory for the competitors to wear and they must be approved by WKF:
  • mitts (red and blue)
  • mouthpiece
  • female chest protector
  • groin guard for male (not mandatory but if worn must be approved WKF type)
  • shin pads (red and blue)
  • foot protection (red and blue)

  The mitts, shin pads, foot protection, and groin guard for men / chest protector for women shall be worn beneath the Karategi uniform.

8.5. Draw
The drawing lots shall be conducted under control of the Technical Committee within three (3) days prior to the first competition.

8.6. Duration of Contest

• The duration of the contest shall be three (3) minutes for men and two (2) minutes for women. During Semifinals and Finals (medal rounds), the duration shall be four (4) minutes for men and three (3) minutes for women.
• The timing of the bout starts when the Referee gives the signal to start, and stops each time the Referee calls "YAME".
• The timekeeper shall give visual signals by a clearly audible gong, or buzzer, indicating "10 seconds to go" or "time up". The "time up" signal marks the end of the bout. 

8.7. Officials

8.7.1. Judges, Referees and Recorder
Judges and Referees shall be the holders of International Referee Certificate registered by the WKF.

8.7.1.1. Duties

Referee

• The referee shall have control over the match.
• The referee shall declare “Sanbon” (3 points), “Nihon” (2 points) and “Ippon” (1 point). All the referees’ declarations shall be made when the results are confirmed.
• The referee shall have the right to make decisions independently in accordance with the prescribed rules.
• The referee shall mark the valid points immediately in same time with the judges.

Judges

• The judges shall mark the valid points immediately.
• The judges shall sate their opinions forthrightly when requested by the referee.

Recorder

• The recorder shall time the contest and periods of time-out, suspension, and also shall record and publicize the points.

8.7.1.2. Responsibility for Judgment
Decision made by the referees and judges shall be conclusive and they shall be responsible to the Protest Committee for those decisions.

8.7.1.3. Uniform of the Refereeing Officials

• The Referees and Judges must wear the official uniform designated by the WKF.
• The refereeing officials shall not carry or take any materials to the arena which might interfere with the contest.

8.7.2. Appointment
The Organizing Committee shall appoint an appropriate number of referees, judges, and recorder.

8.8. Weigh-in

• Weigh-in of the contestants on the day of competition shall be completed on the previous day of the relevant competition.
• During weigh-in, the male contest shall wear underpants and the female shall wear underpants and brassiere. However, weigh-in may be conducted in the nude in the case that the contestant wishes to do so.
• Weigh-in shall be made once, however one more weigh-in is granted within the time limit to the contestant who did not qualify the first time.
• So as not to be disqualified during official weigh-in, scales, the same as the official one, shall be provided at the contestants’ place of accommodation or at the arena for pre-weigh-in.

9. PROTESTS

9.1. Procedure for lodging a protest
All sport related protests will be resolved in accordance to the WKF Rules and Regulations and will be managed by the Karate Protest Committee. Any official protest must be submitted in writing in English on the Official Deaflympics Protest Form. The form must be given to the ICSD Technical Director with USD $50 within 30 minutes after official posted results.

The ICSD Technical Director will decide whether the protest is sporting related or eligibility related. The Karate Protest Committee will review all sport related protests, and the ICSD Executive Committee will review all eligibility protests. The deposit of USD $50 will be returned to the appellant only if the protest is considered valid.

9.2. Procedures for reviewing a protest
The Karate Protest Committee will meet in the Technical Directors office in Taipei at a time decided upon by the chairperson of the committee.

• The ICSD Technical Director will be the chairperson of the committee.
• The Sports Liaison Officer (SLO) will be responsible to book the meeting room and interpreters.
• The Sports Liaison Officer (SLO) will contact all committee members to inform them of the meeting time and location.
• The ICSD Technical Director will be responsible for liaising with the State Sports Association's Competition Manager.

The Sports Liaison Officer (SLO) will be responsible for informing Games Headquarters GHQ and the ICSD Technical Director will be responsible for informing ICSD Executive Committee about the protest and also the outcome of the protest.

10. CONTROL AND SANCTIONS

10.1. Hearing Aids
The use of any hearing aid/amplification or external cochlear implant parts are not permitted within the restricted zone area.

10.1.1. Restricted Zone Area
The restricted zone area is in effect from the time athletes enter the competition area on 3rd floor (3F) during the warm-up and competition period.

10.1.2. Violation and Penalty
When this rule is violated, refer to Audiogram Regulations, Article 6: VIOLATIONS and PENALTIES.

10.2. Medical Control
Refer to General Technical Rules - Summer Deaflympics, Article 4 - CONTROL AND SANCTIONS.

11. TECHNICAL MEETING

11.1. Date and Location
The Karate technical meeting will be held on 5 September 2009 in Gong Cheng Complex in Taipei Municipal University of Education at 12:00.

11.2. Attendance
Each participating National Federation may be represented by two officials, of whom at least one must be deaf and, if necessary, an interpreter.