(St. Albans, West Virginia, Saturday, February 7, 2009) – Getting an early start on the tournament season, many athletes from across the east coast including, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia travelled over the mountain roads this weekend to compete in the USA-NKF Regional Qualifier held in St. Albans, West Virginia.

The event was open to traditional karate competitors from West Virginia and surrounding regions that competed to qualify for the 2009 USA-NKF National Karate Championships which will be held July 17-20th in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The USA National Karate-do Federation (USA-NKF) is the National Governing Body (NGB) Sport Karate within the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee. It is at the USA-NKF National Championships that the Official USA Karate Team is chosen for both adults and juniors to represent the United States in international competitions.