Canberra Boxing Bulletin edition 21 - October 2001

Tournament season final - Sat 27 October ANU Union

The last amateur boxing tournament in Canberra for this year is on Saturday 27th October at the ANU Union (“the uni bar”). Doors open 5.30pm for a 6pm start.

We are expecting a big programme of boxing on the night, with boxers coming from Griffith, Newcastle, Bowral, Wagga, the Central Coast, and Sydney.

At the time of going to press, the following locals were expected to weigh-in:

Michael Ninness (Tugg PCYC - Heavyweight, NSW state champion 2000, 2001)

Gerard O’Mahony (UTC - Light Middleweight, Zone champion 2001)

Aaron Reid (ACT Boxing Academy - Welterweight)

Martin Bye (Turner PCYC - Light Welterweight)

Joe McCann (Turner PCYC - 54kg cadet division)

Dale Hogg (UTC - Light Welterweight)

Darren Summerrell (Tuggeranong PCYC - Bantamweight)

Brendan Bayliss (Flames - 60kg cadet division)

Scott Lovelock (Tugg PCYC - 63.5kg cadet division)

Rick Harris (Tuggeranong PCYC - Light Middleweight)

Dmitry Li (ACT Boxing Academy - Light Middleweight)

Russell Genter (UTC - Light Middleweight)

Ben Crossingham (UTC - Light Welterweight)

Ashlee Lopez (Tuggeranong PCYC - Bantamweight, Zone champion 2001)

Make a night of it with a group of family or friends, and give our boxers a strong show of support. Tournaments are currently ACT Boxing’s main income source, and we need good numbers to cover costs! Tickets at the door are $15, student/youth/pension price $10, kids $5, and families (2+2) are $35. The Union is on University Ave in Civic, off North Rd, off Barry Drive.

ACT boxing becomes independent of NSW in 2002

With effect from 1 January 2002, amateur boxing in Canberra will cease to be controlled by the NSWABA and will come fully under the control of ACT Boxing Incorporated. This landmark decision was made by the federal body (ABAI) on 11 October. All boxers, coaches and officials residing or training in the ACT (except AIS athletes from interstate) will register with ACT Boxing in future.

After nearly three years of work, this is a major achievement for ACT Boxing and opens up new horizons. We will begin registering females in 2002, we will have ACT Championships annually, and we are now entitled to send an ACT team to the Australian Championships each year.

The next Australian Championships will be held in Melbourne 21-24 March 2002, and are a selection mechanism for the 2002 Commonwealth Games at Manchester. The procedure for selection of an ACT team to go to Melbourne will be announced later this year. Experienced boxers hoping to be selected for the ACT team to Melbourne will need to be in training early - we will not be sending a large team, but a skilled one.

Later this year ACT Boxing Inc will announce its 2002 tournament programme, after consulting with NSWABA to maximise the number of opportunities for NSW boxers to attend our shows and vice-versa.

Over the next three months, ACT Boxing will be putting in place the infrastructure for running amateur boxing as a “state” in our own right. We need more people to commit themselves as coaches, timekeepers, gloving stewards, judges, referees. Training courses for these roles will be scheduled early in 2002. We also need people with skills and energy in fund-raising, public relations, and event management. If you can help, call 6292 1149.