The Bermuda Karate Organisation will be sending a team of 13 to compete at the World Karate Organisation World Championships to be held in England next month.

The tournament takes place in Birmingham from September 27 to 29.

Junior members Dominic Butterfield, Malachi Darrell, Jade Darrell, Scott Kennedy and Jakio Williams will be joined by seniors Jerry Bailey, Shaun Dill, Talia Iris and Sentwali Woolridge.

The team will be accompanied by coach Skipper Ingham, assistant coach Gladwin `Roots' Phillips, manager Kristina Ingham and referee Charles Butterfield.

"Competitors were selected on the basis of their performance in local competition over the past two years and have been training specifically for this event since 2001," said Kristina Ingham. Bermuda Karate Organisation has entered previous WKO events in Buenos Aires (1994), Canada (1996) and Venice (2000).

"Gladwin Phillips won Bermuda's first sparring gold medal in 1994," said Ingham. "In 2000 Talia Iris took gold in weapons, traditional kumite and point sparring. Scott Kennedy won a second in point sparring and Sentwali Woolridge was third in traditional kumite."