Canberra Boxing Bulletin edition 20 - September 2001

Canberra boxers shine at NSW Southern Zone Titles 

Congratulations to the five Canberra boxers and their coaches who entered in the NSW Southern Zone Titles held in North Richmond on 25-26 August. All our boxers can be proud of themselves, having given great performances.

 On Saturday, boxing for the semi-final of the 63.6kg Senior Open division, Turner PCYC's Martin Bye fought a tough bout against Chris Reynolds from Bathurst, losing by the slimmest of margins. 

 In Sunday's finals, Tuggeranong PCYC's Ashlee Lopez recovered from a slow start to take control in the second round, defeating Jamie Jones to win the 60kg Senior Novice title. 

In the 67kg Senior Open final, ACT Boxing Academy's Aaron Reid gave a strong performance in the first three rounds but was unable to keep up the pace in the fourth,  losing to a more experienced Goran Pavic.

Underground Gym's Gerard O'Mahony showed great form in his 71kg Senior Open bout against Jason Lewis, winning by a comfortable margin; and

 Tuggeranong PCYC's  Clayton Tidbury brings home the 81kg Senior Open title after a convincing win against Jeremy Usmar. Clayton was also awarded the Best Boxer trophy for the Senior Open Division.

 New tournament date— Sat 27 October at ANU Union

Because of the change of date for the national titles in Sydney, we have moved our October tournament from Sat 13th to Saturday 27th October. This tournament will  be held at the ANU Union Refectory (“Uni Bar”), the same venue as the last two shows.

 This is the last local tournament for 2001. Those of you still thinking about having your first bout should talk to your coach NOW to get in shape for this date.  You must also register  beforehand, ask your coach for a form or call 6292 1149. Males aged 10-33 are eligible to register (females will not be eligible till we achieve independence from NSW).

 Weigh-in will be 12-2pm, medical 4pm, bouts commencing 6pm 

ACT Boxing applies for federal affiliation

On 1st August, ACT Boxing formally applied for  membership of the federal boxing body (ABAI) as a ‘state’ in our own right. If granted, ACT Boxing Inc will be entirely responsible for the management of amateur boxing in the ACT, independent of New South Wales. We have asked for this change to become effective on 1 January 2002.

 This is a major step in our evolution, and one towards which we have been working for over two years. Amongst other things, it will mean having an ACT Titles each  year, being able to commence competitive women’s boxing, and being able to send an ACT team to the National Titles each year.

 All registrations of local  boxers, coaches and officials will be handled here in the ACT, and it is planned to hold monthly tournaments next year from March  through to September, prior to an ACT Titles in October 2002.

 Whilst we will be independent of NSW, our boxers and officials will continue to have regular involvement with Southern Districts Zone tournaments, and vice-versa.

 The ABAI Board will make a decision on our application in October and we are confident that our application will be approved.  

Jack Pappas accepts position of Patron

We are very pleased to announce that Canberra barrister Jack Pappas has accepted the position of Patron of ACT Boxing Incorporated.  

State and National Titles—note the changed dates

The NSWABA State Titles have been brought forward to the weekend 22-23 September, at Chester Hill RSL. Note that this year the NSWABA has decided to make these “open” titles - i.e., to allow novices to enter into the open  category.

 This year it is the turn of New South Wales to host the National Championships, and the date for this event has been brought forward to Friday 12 - Sunday 14 October, also at the Chester Hill RSL. 

 Anyone planning to attend the State or National titles should consider arranging accommodation well in advance. We have details of accommodation options, and the option of pooling funds to travel up in a rented minibus will be considered.

 Tickets to the State Titles are $15/day, to Nationals are $20/day.

Defence Force Academy—Martial Arts and Boxing night 

ADFA are holding a martial arts and boxing night on Thursday 20 September, at 7pm in Adams Hall on the ADFA campus at Campbell. Last year’s first such show was a great night, and everyone is invited to attend this year’s event. Cost is nominal.

Level 1 Coaching Course and Referee/Judge course

NSWABA will hold a Level 1 coaching course and (if there are candidates) a Judges course, at the Blacktown PCYC on the weekend 8-9 September. For details, contact George Turner on  9750 3496.

NSWABA news

In July, Warwick Warn was elected as State President of the NSW Amateur Boxing Association, replacing Dr Lou Lewis who resigned in April. Referees Wayne Rose and Steve Donkin  were also  elected to the NSWABA Executive Committee.

 At the NSW Southern Districts Zone annual general meeting in August, the following were elected as office-bearers:

President—Don Abnett;  Vice-President—John Barber; Secretary—Wayne Rose; Treasurer—Bob Barron.

Referees and Judges

We welcome Shane Drumgold to the team of tournament judges in Canberra. Shane joins Rob Barron, Kunal Bhatia, Peter Blencowe, & Andrew Smith as zone judges, with  Tony Whelan and Richard Terry (currently overseas till November) who are state judges.

Venues for 2002

The Board of ACT Boxing will shortly be considering options for the venue for our tournaments in 2002. If you have any suggestions about tournament venues, call 6292 1149 or email us at admin@actboxing.cjb.net

The Canberra Boxing Bulletin is published every two months by ACT Boxing Inc. If you would like to be placed on our mailing list, call 6292 1149.