2023 CHICAGO BLAST KARATE INVITATIONAL

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WHAT IS THE AAU NUMBER?​

To compete in this tournament, a 2023 membership to the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is required. The fee for youth (17 and under) is $16. The fee for adults (18 and up) is $29. The AAU membership can be used to compete in any other AAU event between September 2022 and August 2023. You can learn more about membership benefits and purchase a membership online at https://play.aausports.org.

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WHAT ARE THE DIVISIONS? / WHY ARE THERE ONLY FOUR BELT COLORS?​

This tournament uses AAU's four ranking divisions, which wear only four belt colors (white, green, brown or black). AAU places athletes into these divisions based on the number of years they have trained, rather than by the rank they have earned. To make it easier for students who haven't competed previously, here is how the divisions break down:

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• Beginners are competitors who have been training for less than 1 year, and they all wear white belts during the tournament regardless of their earned rank. Generally, these students may have earned a rank of 10th-7th kyu (white, yellow, orange and green belts).
   

• Novices are competitors who have been training for 1-2 years, and they all wear green belts during the tournament regardless of their earned rank. Generally, these students may have earned a rank of 6th-4th kyu (blue and purple belts).
   

• Intermediates are competitors who have been training for 2-4 years, and they all wear brown belts during the tournament regardless of their earned rank. Generally, these students may have earned a rank of 3rd-1st kyu (brown belts).
   

• Advanced competitors have been training for 4+ years, and they all wear black belts during the tournament. All dan ranks (black belts) must compete at the advanced level. Some of our more experienced brown belts who have been training for more than 4 years must also compete at the advanced level.
   

If you have any questions about which division you should register for, ask your sensei. Please make arrangements to buy or borrow a belt if you don't have the right color in the right size for competition. 

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ON THE DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT, WHAT TIME SHOULD I ARRIVE?​

Event times will be released the day before the tournament. Athletes should be dressed and ready to compete at least 60 minutes prior to their scheduled event times to avoid rushing and allow time to warm-up.