On July 20, 2021, the International Olympic Committee officially recognized kickboxing as an Olympic sport.
International Kickboxing Day in 2024 is celebrated on November 30th. It commemorates when the provisional International Olympic Committee recognized the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO).
USA Kickboxing sanctions competition in two disciplines, Tatami and Ring Sports. According to Bill Viola Jr. (WAKO USA Tatami Chairman), the organization is spearheading Kickboxing towards the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane, Australia. Viola explains, “This was our most competitive and largest nationals to date. We are confident in our junior athletes headed to Budapest in August and our senior athletes competing in Chile [Vina del Mar] in October. Tatami champions from Chile will earn a slot in the prestigious World Games in Chengdu, China [August 2025].”
Viola continues, “I always get asked, what does this all mean? The answer is simple, we inch one step closer to an Olympic birth.” USA Kickboxing is the only U.S. organization in the sport of kickboxing to have IOC (International Olympic Committee) & AOC (American Olympic Committee) recognition. The athletes compete at the highest of levels, qualifying in our National Championship Tournaments to earn their spots on the team to compete internationally at the Pan-American Championships, World Games and the World Combat Games. WAKO USA serves as the gateway to the Olympics. The World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) the National Governing Body for the sport under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. Viola Jr. shares, “WAKO is the pathway for Olympic Kickboxers.”
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) was founded in 1894 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It serves as both the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States.
A federally chartered nonprofit corporation, the USOPC is entirely privately funded through the generosity of the American public and the support of many commercial partners. It is one of the only NOCs in the world that manages both Olympic and Paralympic activities. Also, unlike other NOCs, it does not receive governmental funding.
Additionally, the USOPC oversees the process by which U.S. cities bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Youth Olympic Games, or the Pan American and Parapan American Games, while also playing a supporting role in the bid processes for hosting a myriad of other international competitions. Further, the USOPC approves the U.S. trials sites and procedures for the Olympic, Paralympic, Youth Olympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games team selections.
Together with Team USA athlete leaders and a robust ecosystem of NGBs, advisory councils, the U.S. Anti-doping Agency, the U.S. Center for SafeSport, countless volunteers and thousands of organizations dedicated to sport, the USOPC continues to serve the most successful sport nation, winning more medals than any other country, hosting more international competitions and serving in more global sport leadership roles than any of our international peers.
The USOPC is focused on serving America’s elite athletes, and is responsible for fielding U.S. teams for the Olympic, Paralympic, Youth Olympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games, and serving as the steward of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement in America.
WAKO is the pathway for Olympic Kickboxers.
WAKO became part of The World Games family in 2014 as the 37th member of the IWGA. Kickboxing was part of the Invitational Sports Program at The World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland. In Birmingham, Alabama Kickboxing will have its debut on the official program of TWG. The fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games 2026 (YOG) will be held in Dakar, Senegal. This is the first time the Youth Olympic Games will be organised in Africa. Dakar 2022 presented a visionary, ambitious and technically sound YOG project that addresses the long-term aims of the country.
