As pledged at the IABA EGM on 12 October, a third phase of consultation on the IABA Rulebook has now opened.
A two- phase formal consultation on the revision of the rulebook took place in November-December 2023 and June-July 2024. A 10-month information consultation was open between November 2023 and September 2024.
The revised rulebook was adopted by the Board of Directors on September 20th last – but member voting on adoption has been postponed to allow additional consultations with State Services: the Defence Forces, Gardai, the PSNI and Universities.
The consultation is now open to all members, through rules@iaba.ie for a two week period until 5pm on Wednesday, October 30th.
Thereafter, the Rules Committee will review all submissions and issue any amendments to all clubs by Wednesday, November 6th, for their consideration.
There are 7 days left to enter Irish Boxing’s marquee competition: the National Elite Championships.
The tournament will be contested by World and European medalists, as well as Paris Olympians and Paris & Tokyo Olympians.
Boxing will take place at the home of Irish Boxing from November 11th to 15th.
Please be advised that, as per Article 46 of the IBA Technical and Competition rules, headguards are removed from Women’s Elite Competitions, this also includes our National Elite Championships.
Competition Arrangements
Dates: November 11tht to 15th. Finals take place on the 15th,
Entries: A non–refundable entry fee of €40 applies. Online entry, via the Blocworx portal, is open till 5pm sharp on Friday 1st, November. Only boxers for whom entries and entry fees have been received will be allowed box. All boxers must enter the Elite championships to be considered for International Duty.
Boxers who enter the 2025 National Elite Championships but who cannot compete through injury will be required to furnish a medical statement of injury to the National Secretary Antoinette Fay McClean at mccleaniaba@gmail.com
Entry Process: Affiliated clubs wishing to enter boxers into the championships must log-in to their Blocworx portal, using their unique username and password. Clubs who have not retained their username or password following the completion of their affiliation for the 2024/2025 season, or which are experiencing any difficulty in submitted boxing information or fees should contact IABA staff, Sally Ann Kinch sally@iaba.ie, James Geraghty, James@iaba.ie or Ciara Plunkett, ciara@iaba.ie
Please be aware that all boxers entering this competition must: (1) be members of an IABA affiliated club, (2) must be explicitly named in their club’s Blocworx portal, (3) be eligible to represent IABA under IBA eligibility requirements (4) boxers must have completed the applicable waiver/code of conduct process
No international competition kits to be worn by any boxers; boxers may wear club kit, only.
Draws: Tuesday, 05th November, 1pm in the National Stadium. The draw is being conducted on the basis of pre-entry only.
Attention is drawn to the following IABA rule
A club shall not include in its list of members the name of any person who is a member of any other club. Accordingly, any club making an entry to the National Elite championships affirms that the entrant is not a member of any other club, in any jurisdiction.
Weigh-in and Medical: Boxers will weigh in each day they box. Individual weigh-in times may be given to participants but this will be decided and made known prior to the event. A medical will be performed on each boxer on their first day of competition.
Boxing Record books to be presented by the boxer at their initial weigh-in.
Age Requirements: Boxers born between 1984 and 2005.
It is a condition of entry that all competitors and officials have a signed Waiver/Members Acknowledgement Form and adhere to any agreement made with the Association sponsors. This document also stipulates requirements in relation to conduct throughout the championships, and social media It is the duty and responsibility of the National Registrar to withdraw any boxer deemed to be insufficiently experienced for Elite level competition, with reference to the boxer’s Boxing Record book.
PRO WRAPS Are permitted. Boxers with pro-wraps hands must present them to an official, as directed by the National Registrar, for inspection before competing.
HEADGUARDS: As per Article 46 of the IBA Technical and Competition rules: Headguards are removed from Women’s Elite Competitions, this also includes our National Elite Championships.
Anti-Doping may be carried out at any stage of the championships and all boxers must advise the doctor of any medication they are taking or have taken in the preceding 4 weeks. It is imperative that all boxers adhere to the Anti-Doping Rules and Regulations. For any queries regarding this matter, boxers/coaches should contact Mr Larry Morrison, IBA Anti-Doping Officer on 086-0292476.
Non Pregnancy Declaration forms must be signed.
Attire: Boxers shall have one red and one blue vest. In accordance with IBA Technical and Competition rule 48.7, boxers may wear form fitting arm / and or leg coverings. Hair must be tied back and hairnets or swimming caps should be worm under head gear for boxers with long hair. NO red, orange or pink gumshields are allowed. A boxer can have a beard and moustache, but either must not cover the neck and must not be longer than 10cm, in accordance with IBA Technical and Competition rule 4.2.5.2.2
Coaches: They must wear track suitsandrunners at all sessions and endeavour to set a high standard of hygiene in the corners. No shorts, caps or hats are allowed.
Sportsmanship: All decisions must be accepted in a sporting manner. Any complaints must be addressed to the Chief Official, Mr. Philip Rooney. Please show respect to all Ringside Officials. A document stipulating requirements in relation to conduct and the use of social media must be signed by all boxers and coaches at their initial weigh-in.
Please Note:
Referees & Judges for the Elite Championships will not be allowed enter the field of play as a coach with their club boxer.
All Referee & Judges must bring their record book.
Please ensure when entering your boxer into Blocworx, that your Boxers email address is also entered to give the boxers direct access to information on the selection policy or the nomination declaration process.
Tadhg O’Donnell opened Team Ireland’s account at the World Youth Championships in style.
He and contested a Last 32 bout against Bulgaria’s G Zaprinov, and it was all over in under 35 seconds. The Referee gave 3 standing counts to the Bulgarian boxer, and waved the bout off.
Tadhg contests his Last 16 bout against Colombia’s J. Franco, who got a bye to that stage of the competition.
The tournament is the pinnacle of competition for boxers of this age group. 660 boxers from 88 national federations will represent their countries at the championship, which is being hosted by the Montenegro Boxing Federation from October 20th to November 6th. November 1st will be a rest day at the tournament, and all finals will be boxed on November 2nd and 3rd. The competition schedule is available here
This is a biannual tournament and was last contested by Ireland in La Nucia, Spain, in November 2022. Ireland returned with 6 medals: Gold for 81kg Cliona D’Arcy and light heavy, Team Co-Captain Dearbhla Tinnelly, Lightweight Lee McEvoy, light middle Laura Moran and Team Co-Captain, welter Jim Donovan all came home with bronze medals.
Day Two
No Team Ireland boxers are in action on the second day of the tournament – all of Thursday’s programmes are available here
IBA is streaming the tournament on it’s YouTube channel, with separate streams per ring and session – they are available here
Day Three
Two Team Ireland boxers are between the ropes on the 3rd day of the tournament – both boxers contest in Ring A’s Evening Session, which begins at 5pm, Irish time.
In bout 3, 63.5kg Ryan Jenkins, of Olympic BC Mullingar, will be two wins away from a medal when he takes on Israel’s A. Rahal
Team Captain, reigning European Youth champion Adam Olaniyan of Jobstown BC, Dublin begins his tournament at Last 16 stage, against Mexico’s E. Ramirez Contreras – that’s bout 10.
IABA Belfast Boxing Officers, Brendan Irvine and Paddy Gallagher, with assistance from local club coaches, have provided a series of boxing taster sessions today to over 125 young pupils from across the city.
This took place at the Girdwood Community Hub, which is gearing-up for a massive weekend of action at the nationally-calendared Halloween Box Cup. Over 400 boxers from 5 countries have submitted their entries to the tournament.
The schools participating in today’s Try It! sessions were: St Paul’s PS Sea View PS Orangefield St Mary’s Boy’s Model School
All pupils engaged in a fun training sessions, learning non-contact boxing technical skills.
High Performance Coach, Damian Kennedy, has been honoured by the UK National Lottery, and is a selected as a “Game Changer”, along with 29 others across the UK who’ve made a pivotal contribution to their sports and their communities.
Damian is among a group of 7 Games Changers being platformed and celebrated today, to as part of The UK National Lottery’s 30th birthday celebrations with a collection of poems by artist Robert Montgomery.
James Speakman/PA Media Assignments
In May, Damian was honoured at the Sport NI Sportmaker 2023 Awards, for his role as Team NI Boxing Head Coach at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, as well as his High Performance coaching in 2023 and 2024. Team NI topped the medal standings at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, taking home 5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal.
The poem has been unveiled across four locations – Wembley Stadium, Principality Stadium, the University of Stirling swimming pool and the Ulster University Sports Village. Each verse of the poem highlights one of the seven Game Changers (Dame Sarah Storey, Stephen Jones, Paul Sinton-Hewitt CBE, Steven Tigg, Damian Kennedy, Alice Dearing, and Baroness Sue Campbell) and recognises their impact on both grassroots and elite level sport, with the help of National Lottery players who raise £30 million every week for good causes.
