Roy Baker becomes WAKO President
Great news for KBI and Roy Baker as he becomes WAKO president.
Roy Baker is a former World and European champion of kickboxing, current president of WAKO Ireland and current president of WAKO Europe. Professionally, he is a director of SSE, which is FTSE 20 company with a multi billion turnover. He has the degree in Credit management, degree in IT Integration and Masters in Management. He is A six sigma lean master Black belt. He is now the first Irishman to be a President of a World governing body of a sport recognized by the IOC. He has two children, who are the very center of his life and he never misses the opportunity to stress that.
The new WAKO President Mr. Roy Baker thanked to all members of the Assembly, introducing the short speech about the main ideas and the concept of work he would like to have in the organization:
” Thank you for your confidence in me. I promise I will do everything in my power to help the athletes, the coaches, the national federations, the continental federations .
Individual commitment to a group effort is what will make WAKO work. A team will make WAKO work. I will rely on the WAKO Board, administration and the national federations and when we come together, we will move forward. I will rely on my family, who allowed me to go for this. The great things in sport are never done by one person.
Trust me, the presidency is a very tough job. I would like to thank the people who listened to me without judgment, who spoke with me without prejudice, who helped me without entitlement and understood me without pretension. We are responsible for the young children in our sport. They are our future.
The sport of kickboxing has been the fundamental shaper of the person I am today, it gives me confidence, resilience and joy. I gave the most of my life to this sport. And I will continue to do so. Thank you very much.”
Roy Baker retires from the Kickboxing Ireland Executive Committee
Roy Baker – A man of many talents. Since 2019, Mr Baker has seen some of WAKO’s biggest achievements, chief among them, successfully having Kickboxing officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee. In addition to this, Mr Baker has also been the presiding President over Kickboxing Ireland during this time.
2023 was an extraordinary year for WAKO with the first ever Kickboxing delegation included in the European Olympic Games held in Poland in June 2023. WAKO then saw The Sport Accord World Combat Games hold amazing competition in October 2023. Mr Baker has been the guiding light to these achievements.
To close out an amazing year and an extremely fruitful 4 years with Mr Baker the Ordinary Electoral General Assembly which was held on 19th November 2023 in Albufeira, Portugal, Mr. Roy Baker was re-elected as the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) president for the mandate 2023-2027. A Kickboxing Ireland representative said, “We are incredibly proud to have Mr Baker as our own President being recognised in this way just goes to show how much work is being done in the background to push our sport forward to the future both internationally and at home.”
A well-deserved accolade for Mr Baker who had this to say:
“I am deeply humbled and honoured to have been elected as the president of WAKO for the next four years.
In this role, my utmost priority is to serve and develop our national federations and athletes, who are the very essence of our existence.
Over the past four years, we have achieved remarkable milestones together, and I firmly believe that the next four years will bring new extraordinary opportunities and also challenges. With the unwavering support of our WAKO family, I am confident that we will succeed together.
Our shared vision for a strategic and progressive future will propel our sport to its rightful place as the leading combat sport in the world.
As the President, I am here to support and serve the Board of Directors. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all those who put forward their names. While we cannot select everyone, please do not be discouraged. I hope to have the opportunity to work with you in some other capacity during the next four years.
I wholeheartedly commit my energy, passion, and noble intentions to the development and growth of the sport of kickboxing.
Together, let us strive for excellence and create a legacy that will inspire generations to come in the extraordinary sport of Kickboxing”, Baker said after his re-election.”
We look forward to seeing what the next 4 years brings for our amazing sport.
