The event at the High-Performance Centre of the National Football Federation in Bogotá sought to provide education and training for referees and coaches to improve standards in the region.

It was led by WKF Referee Commission chair Javier Escalante of Sweden, and organised jointly by the Colombian Karate Federation and WKF.

Recent innovations introduced to the sport by the WKF include an electronic scoring system for the kumite discipline through the use of joysticks.

WKF President Antonio Espinós underlined the importance of learning opportunities for coaches and referees.

"Initiatives such as this high-profile seminar in Colombia, as well as many other educational activities around the world, together with our global judging unification project, showcase the WKF’s core efforts to further improve the refereeing of our events," Espinós said.

"Karate is, by nature, a tremendously fair and balanced sport, and the development of our refereeing system over the years only comes to demonstrate how much we have progressed to raise the level of our competitions.

"I want to thank Referee Commission chairman Javier Escalante for leading these initiatives and for being the champion of equality in karate.

"Also, our heartfelt gratitude to Colombia Karate Federation president Nuvis Negrete for hosting this event and for her leadership in the remarkable progress of the organisation since she took the helms of the National Federation."

Karate made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, and is seeking a return as an additional sport at Los Angeles 2028 after missing out on Paris 2024.