NON-FULL contact karate members have formed a new union called the Zimbabwe National Karate Federation (ZNKF), divorcing themselves from the Zimbabwe Karate Union. ZNKF has since applied for registration with the Sports and Recreation Commission. BY TERRY MADYAUTA Joe Rugwete is the first president of the new organisation and will be deputised by Lizzie Mupure.Tirivenyu Mutema assumes the general secretary post while a qualified treasurer is set to be appointed soon together with committee members. The organisation confirmed the development in a Press statement. “Former non-full contact karate members of the Zimbabwe Karate Union (ZKU) have formed the Zimbabwe National Karate Federation (ZNKF), which has successfully applied for registration with the Sports and Recreation Commission,” the statement read. “The members of the ZNKF have since withdrawn their membership from the ZKU which is now effectively the National Sport Association that controls the practice of full contact karate. The federation was established in line with the World Karate Federation standards. “The ZNKF has been formed to ensure that the national association complies with the statutes of the World Karate Federation (WKF), which bar its members from having sporting relationships with other karate associations that are not recognised by the WKF.”