On September 19 and 20, 2026, the traditional kyokushin karate tournament “Cup of Hope” 2026 took place in Saint Petersburg, at the “VETERANOV” Sports and Health Complex (Veternov St. 58). Over two days, on two tatami, medals were awarded across 97 categories in kumite (weight classes), kata, team kata and tameshware — from the youngest 6-7 age group up to the senior divisions.
The competition was held with the support of the St. Petersburg Committee of Physical Culture and Sport and the Russian Union of Martial Arts. According to the official report: 525 participants, 30 teams, 97 categories, 2 tatami and 32 referees.
The tournament was opened by the strike on the taiko drum — the traditional signal for the start of the bouts. The ceremony was attended by the official Japanese delegation and representatives of Russian budo: Hiroki Matsuo — General Consul of Japan in Saint Petersburg, Natuki Kobayashi — Vice-Consul and cultural attaché of the Japanese Consulate-General, Nikolai Vladimirovich Smirnov — Honoured Coach of Russia, 10 dan, President of the Modern Martial Arts Federation of Russia, editor-in-chief of the “Budo Global” magazine, and Alexander Valentinovich Drozd — Honoured Master of Sport, two-time world kyokushin champion, 3-dan sensei.
The chief referee of the competition was Alexey Iosifovich Volkov — branch chief of the International Karate Organization KIOKUSHINKAIKAN, Executive Director of the Kyokushin Karate Association of Saint Petersburg, 4-dan sensei. His deputy was Alexander Vladimirovich Sopot — Director of the Saint Petersburg School Sports League, 3-dan sensei. The refereeing panel also included Pavel Alekseevich Fedorov — branch chief of KIOKUSHINKAIKAN, 3-dan sensei.
The unofficial team standings were won by ATEMI Sports Club (149 points), followed by SIN Sports Club (127) and the “Delphin” State Sports School (49).
The ATEMI club used four combined TV screens as a large information board, while standalone TVs running the Tournament Expert software on Raspberry Pi mini-computers informed the spectators and athletes in the hall and right by the tatami. So everyone — from the stands to the corner of the tatami — could see the current category, the call and the timer in real time.
The competition was broadcast live, and the TV lower-third (the on-screen overlay) was generated by the same Tournament Expert software: the number, the category and the athlete’s name were shown over the video, right in the broadcast.
The Tournament Expert development team has been working with Alexey Iosifovich Volkov for a long time and with great pleasure: Alexey brings many new ideas and proposals to the project, and we are very grateful to him for the cooperation and trust. We would also like to single out Alexander Vladimirovich Sopot — an active and confident user of Tournament Expert, who worked in the system freely, without a mentor, during the tournament. For us, that is the highest praise.
For an accurate draw, a stable timing and a fast tally, the tournament was run on the Tournament Expert software. The system automatically built the kumite and kata brackets, taking the weight and age categories into account, and “spread” the fighters from one club across different parts of the bracket so that they would not meet in the early rounds. The electronic secretariat and the digital boards helped the referees keep the pace, while the athletes and coaches saw the call order in real time. The bracket and the results are available on the Tournament Expert portal.
The recordings from tatami A and B of both days can be watched below.
The full results across all 97 categories are published in the article of the “ATEMI” online magazine “Cup of Hope” 2026: tournament results and are available on the Tournament Expert portal.
Format: regional event
Organizers: ATEMI, Alexey Volkov
Location: Russia, Saint Petersburg, Veternov St. 58, “VETERANOV” Sports and Health Complex
Dates: September 19-20, 2026 (Saturday-Sunday) | start 10:00
Disciplines: kumite (weight classes), kata, team kata, tameshware
Thank you to all the athletes, coaches, referees and the secretariat — see you at the next tournament!
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