A team of five athletes is set to represent the Cayman Islands at the 2023 Caribbean Karate Championship in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, being held from 24-29 July.
This marks the first time that the Cayman Islands has sent a team of adults and juniors to take part in a range of events at this regional championship.
Competing in the junior category on 28 July are Cosette Brendel, Lucas Jackson and Quinn Muspratt, while Kenneth Glidden and Nick Young will take part in the senior category events on 29 July.
Cayman Islands national karate coach Patrick Brendel and Cayman Islands National Karate-do Association general secretary, Shihan Greg Reid, will accompany the team when they depart for the Dominican Republic on 25 July.
“Our athletes have been preparing for months for this competition, which is the highlight event on our calendar this year,” Brendel said. “We are very proud of their hard work and dedication, and we all expect excellent performances from our teenagers and adults.”
He added, “This is the first time for our teenagers to represent the Cayman Islands in an international competition while wearing the country’s flag on their uniforms. They are exceptional representatives for Cayman both on and off the competition floor.”
Cayman will be represented in both the individual kata (forms) and kumite (fighting) events, with gold, silver and bronze medals to be awarded in each.
Athletes competing for the Cayman Islands team, and their events:
| Athlete (age) | Event |
| Cosette Brendel (14) | Female (age 14/15) Individual Kata |
| Quinn Muspratt (13) | Female (age 14/15) Individual Kata |
| Female (age 14/15) Individual Kumite | |
| Lucas Jackson (14) | Male (age 14/15) Individual Kata |
| Male (age 14/15) Individual Kumite | |
| Kenneth Glidden (23) | Senior (age 18+) Male Kata |
| Senior (age 18+) Male Kumite | |
| Nick Young (38) | Senior (age 18+) Male Kata |
Kata is a set demonstration of choreographed techniques, akin to artistic floor gymnastics routines, where scores are awarded by judges based on the performance of a selection of the 102 kata approved for competition by the World Karate Federation.
In the kumite event, athletes fight in one-on-one matches, organised by weight category, which vary in length based on the competitors’ ages. For example, Glidden’s kumite in the senior category will be three minutes long, while Muspratt’s and Jackson’s individual matches in their respective junior categories will last two minutes. Protective gear is worn, with points awarded for strikes landed in different places on one’s opponent.
Glidden – who will represent Cayman in the championship’s opening ceremony on 28 July alongside Cosette Brendel – is excited by the opportunity to wave his country’s flag, and confident in the team’s preparation both inside and outside of the dojo.
“I’ve only had the opportunity to represent my Island once before, for swimming, which was a phenomenal feeling,” Glidden said. “It gives me great pride in knowing that my team and I have the skill and ability to represent this beautiful island in this art that we love just as much as we love our country.”
After growing up training and competing with Cayman’s Stingray Swim Club, Glidden went on to join McKendree University’s NCAA Division II swim team. During his final year before graduation, the 23-year-old also spent a season as a diver at McKendree before returning to Cayman and taking up karate. That diverse sporting background, he says, has helped to make the transition into his latest sporting endeavour “fairly seamless”.
“The stamina and strength from the thousands of hours spent in the pool as well as the flexibility and body awareness from my time diving have propelled me to the competitive level of karate that I am at now,” Glidden said. “Without them, I wouldn’t have nearly as much confidence as I do being a green belt about to compete in a black belt division.”
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