12th CKF Championships · Glasgow 2026
Leadership Team
The 12th Commonwealth Karate Championships 2026 is delivered by a dedicated international leadership team, combining the expertise of the Commonwealth Karate Federation with Karate Scotland's experienced local organising committee.
International
CKF Team
Craig Vokey
CKF General Secretary & Championship Director
CKF General Secretary and Championship Director for the 12th CKF Championships. Former President of Karate Canada, 1st Vice President of the Pan American Karate Federation, and member of the World Karate Federation Executive Committee. This is Craig's 5th CKF Championship.
Billy Brennan
CKF 1st Vice President
Bio coming soon
Local Organising Committee
Karate Scotland Team
Paul Giannandrea
President, Karate Scotland
Bio coming soon
Jeannette O'Neill
Organising Committee Lead · CKF Safe Sport Officer
Karate Scotland Event Team Manager. A key member of the event team, working in close partnership with Paul Giannandrea, leading on the organising and running of events on behalf of Karate Scotland — including the Scottish International Open Grand Prix and the Scottish National Championships. Also worked alongside Terry Connell during his tenure as BKF President, running and organising the British National and British International Open Championships.
Seon McLaren
Organising Committee
Bio coming soon
David Marandola
Technical, IT & Sportdata
An experienced member of the Karate Scotland Event Team and a JKS Scotland Technical Official, supporting the full spectrum of local, national and international event operations. His specialist expertise lies in the implementation and management of the Sportdata Event Technology (SET) system, ensuring smooth and efficient event delivery. With over 35 years of involvement in karate as a student, instructor and technical official, David continues to serve actively on the tatami as a qualified judge and referee under both World Karate Federation (WKF) and Shobu-Ippon rule sets.
Richard Steen
IT & Sportdata
Karate Scotland Events Team member, working closely with colleagues to help deliver a wide range of events and competitions on behalf of Karate Scotland. He contributes his expertise in IT and Sportdata, working alongside David Marandola to ensure the smooth and efficient running of competitions. A karate practitioner for over 45 years and an instructor with JKS Scotland, he is dedicated to the development of karate through teaching and mentorship.
Liam Gallagher
Marketing
Liam Gallagher brings over four decades of experience as a competitor, instructor, and coach. He currently serves as a Karate Scotland National Kata Coach and holds recognition as an EKF Kata Coach and WKF Accredited Coach, working at both K1 Youth League and European level. With a background as Director of Operations for several successful customer-focused businesses, he brings expertise in marketing, promotion, event delivery, and organisational management.
Terry Connell
Protocol & Brand Identity
Former President of Karate Scotland, the British Karate Federation and member of the WKF European Technical Committee. A keen supporter of the Commonwealth Karate Federation and part of the team that delivers Commonwealth Karate Online (CKO) — an online training and education programme providing world-class seminars for all Commonwealth member countries at zero cost.