My name is Antonis Mavrommatis. I was born in 1976, descendant of a grandfather from Mani, who married in Kythira.
My relationship with Kythera, as I will explain later, is a relationship of life and love. It is a relationship that is lost in time, but at the same time it is"open" to the future, and to what I still want to offer to my country.
I studied tourism professions at the internationally renowned IHTTI University in Switzerland, and I hold two master's degrees in the fields of tourism and gastronomy.
Since 1998 I started working in the field of tourism and hospitality, and i have also been a businessman for more than a decade in the same field.
The basic principle that governs my business activity, as well as all the investments I have made and those I plan, is the creation of an integrated hospitality and leisure experience for visitors, and of course the creation of value for the wider area of each investment and the local society.
Another activity, which I believe has equally shaped me as a person, is athletics. Athlete and champion in Tae Kwon Do and Kick Boxing, and in recent years - among other things - Vice President of the Panhellenic Kick boxing Federation and President of the Sports Development Committee in the World Federation of Kick Boxing Organizations WAKO.
I have learned and gained a lot from sports, as a professional and as a person. And it's still an area I want to continually contribute to.
First of all, this year marks 12 years since I assumed the representation of WAKO in Greece , the World Federation of Kick Boxing Organizations.
Not long after, my counterparts at WAKO International showed their trust in me by assigning me the position of President of the Marketing Committee, and recently the Sports Development Committee. Recognizing my passion for the sport, and for its appreciation and recognition internationally, at all levels.
During these years, we organized numerous seminars for referees and judges throughout Greece, and dozens of special seminars – many of which I attended as a speaker.
We achieved the recognition of 4 sports by the General Secretariat of Sports, and created the first coaching school in Greece together with the General Secretariat.
Also, we have 15 racing tatami, 3 Olympic-standard kickboxing rings, and all the necessary equipment and infrastructure that can support the event with high standards, and based on the most modern specifications.
We have organized national championships and cups across the country, and the European Championship in 2016.
While in November we will have the pleasure of hosting the 2024 WAKO Men’s Women’s and Veterans European Championship in our country. The most famous and long awaited event of the year for the European kick boxing community
From 48 active clubs in 2012, we reached 356 in 2023, with over 20,000 athletes, and the upward trend continues in 2024. While aiming to highlight Greek kick boxing in Europe and the world, we have carried out almost 100 travels.
We created service offices in Piraeus and Heraklion, Crete, and organized the first Kick Boxing for greek universities. We created the first official ranking of kick boxing athletes, based on standards used internationally.
The most important of all, however, is that kick boxing has now – and after particularly persistent efforts – been recognized as a pre-Olympic sport, and its just about to be fully recognized as an Olympic sport by the International Hellenic Committee (IOC).
At the same time, WAKO Greece is rated as the number one non-Olympic federation by the General Secretariat of Sports, before the full recognition of the sport.
All of the above confirm the dynamics and development of the sport of kick-boxing on a global, European, and of course also national level, and create an important opportunity.
An opportunity to strengthen the bonds of friendship, cooperation and solidarity of national federations and athletes, to work so that kick-boxing receives the recognition it deserves in our country, Europe and the world.
Let me note that all that happened was neither easy nor self-evident. We have to bear in mind that everythig was made by a very small number of partners with love for the sport, without stadiums and infrastructure, without sponsors and official support for most years, in the midst of the corona virus and restrictive measures.
And this is how we got to the point of making kick boxing, in 2023, a sport 9 times more developed than any other sport, team or individual, in the world. And for Greece to be among the 8 best teams in the world for the last 6 years.
I am proud to have actively participated – and I have also put my little stone if you will – so that all of the above will be put into practice, and I will continue so that the sport is recognized internationally and creates multiple benefits for those involved with it, and of course for the countries.