There are 10 days remaining for entries to IABA’s marquee competition: the 2024 National Elite Championships. The entry and fees deadline is 5pm on October 25th, the draw takes place on October 27th, and boxing may take place from November 1st. Finals will be boxed on the evening of November 11th, at the National Stadium, Dublin. The remainder of the schedule will be set after the draw.

Please note:

• Any club experiencing any difficulty in using their Blocworx portal either to submit their boxer’s information, or to pay entry fees, is asked to make contact with Sally Kinch, sally@iaba.ie James, Geraghty james@iaba.ie or Ciara, ciara@iaba.ie at the earliest opportunity and well in advance of the entry and payment deadline.
• Boxer’s email addresses are required for this competition – this is to enable the sharing of information with clubs and boxers after the close of entries.

Competition Arrangements:

Venue: National Stadium, Dublin.

Dates:   November 1^st to 11^th. Finals take place on the 11^th,  

Entries:      A non–refundable entry fee of €40 applies. Online entry, via the Blocworx portal, is open until 5pm sharp on Wednesday, October 25thth. Only boxers for whom entries and entry fees have been

received by this deadline will be allowed box. Late entries will not be accepted. Boxers wishing to be considered for selection to the High Performance Unit and HPU events, including squad training, competition and training camps, must enter the 2024 National Elite Championships

Athletes must note that Team Ireland boxers have already qualified for Paris 2024 at F57kg, 60kg and 75kg, 63.5kg and 92kg. Therefore, these weights are completed and no longer available.

The following weights, only, are available to Team Ireland to contest the 2024 World Olympic Qualifier competitions:

Women – 50kg / 54kg / 66kg

Men – 51kg / 57kg / 71kg / 80kg / 92+kg

Boxers who do not enter the 2024 National Elite Championships at these 8 weights will not be considered for selection for Olympic qualification events.  Athletes are advised that, should a boxer qualify in any of the above noted 8 weights in the 1st World Olympic Qualifier, this weight will no longer be available at the 2nd World Olympic Qualifier. Boxers who enter the 2024 National Elite Championships but who cannot compete through injury will be required to undergo a medical exam by a doctor at the National Stadium.

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 2023/2024 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 for assistance.

Draws:                                             Friday, 27^th October, 1pm in the National Stadium.

The draw is being conducted on the basis of pre-entry only.

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.

Weigh-in dates:              

November 01st – 10^th                     8.00am – 10.00am & 11.00am – 1.00pm

November 11th (Finals)                8.00am – 9.00am & 12.00pm – 1.00pm

Boxing: Wednesday, November 01st at 7.00pm. Other times will be contingent on entries and shall be announced after the draw.

Duration: Duration of rounds: Men & Women 3×3 Minutes

Weights:            

Men: 48kg, 51kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 63.5kg, 67kg, 71kg, 75kg, 80kg, 86kg, 92kg, 92+kg

Women: 48kg, 50kg, 52kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 63kg, 66kg, 70kg, 75kg, 81kg, 81+kg

Age Requirements:  Boxers born between 1983 and 2004.

Please note that boxers born in 2005 are Youth boxers until January 1st 2024 and accordingly, cannot compete in an Elite Championships in 2023. Youth boxers are obliged to wear headgear until the year in which they turn 19 years of age.

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.

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.

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:

• The Elite Championship will be run under the IBA Technical & Competition rules.
• 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.

Irish boxing is today mourning the passing of a legend of the sport – Moscow Olympic bronze medalist Hugh “Little Red” Russell.

Hugh began his illustrious amateur career at Holy Family Golden Gloves, Belfast, and claimed innumerable Antrim, Ulster and Irish titles as he rose to Senior Elite.

He boxed for Northern Ireland at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmond, Canada, and came home with bronze. It was in the 1980 Olympics that be became, at that time, Ireland’s 6th Olympic boxing medalist:

Round of 32: Defeated Samir Khiniab (Iraq) on points, 5-0

Round of 16: Defeated Emmanuel Mlundwa (Tanzania) on points, 5-0

Quarterfinal: Defeated Yo Ryon-Sik (North Korea) on points, 3-2

Semifinal: Lost to Peter Lessov (Bulgaria) on points, 0-5 (was awarded bronze medal)

Hugh moved into the professional boxing ranks where he won two British titles in Bantamweight and Flyweight. He was the first boxer to win a British title at both divisions in that order.

In October 1982 he defeated Davy Larmour at the Ulster Hall to win the Irish Bantamweight title. The fight was also a final eliminator for the British Bantamweight title.

In 1983 he fought in the last ever 15 round British title fight before retiring in 1985 as the undefeated British flyweight champion.

Hugh moved on to work as a multi-award winning press photographer, latterly with the Irish News. He was also a Chief Official in the British Boxing Board of Control, overseeing many big fight nights in Belfast. In 2019 he was inducted into the Belfast City Council sporting hall of fame.

Following Hugh’s sad passing overnight, tributes are being paid across the world of Irish Boxing:

Aside from being a great of Irish boxing, Hugh was a genuinely nice guy – he had a kind word for everyone, and was highly regarded throughout the boxing family. He will be sorely missed. My condolences to his loved ones. May he Rest in Peace.

IABA President, Gerry O’Mahony

Hugh will be fondly remembered by all in the sport in Ireland and will be sadly missed.

County Antrim Boxing Board.

My first two memories of boxing as a kid were Ali fighting Larry Holmes and Hugh winning his bronze medal. Especially the Russian announcer pronouncing his name! Hugh was the man who started the modern success of Irish Olympic Boxing . His passing is very sad news – IABA extends its deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Niall O’Carroll, Chair of the IABA Board of Directors.

IABA is preparing to make a grant available to clubs in ROI.

This grant is part of a Sport Ireland Covid Resilience Funding Stream – in October, 2022 IABA invited all clubs in ROI to submit an expression of interest. 73 clubs applied, and have been awarded 1,755 each.

The grant administration committee of Larry Morrison, Ted Barry & Jim Knox also decided to make funding available to all other clubs in ROI, of a total of 495. To access this funding, clubs must complete the DocuSign document which will be emailed to you & your Treasurer, separately, from DocuSign EU System dse@eumail.docusign.net (keep an eye on your inbox and junk).

In order to meet financial good governance best practice, please be advised:

• The bank account nominated to receive the grant must be in the club’s name
• The DocuSign must be signed by your club’s Treasurer and any other officer (Chair/President, Secretary). This is why this email is also being sent to the email address attributed to your current Treasurer in your club’s affiliation for the 2023/2024 season. If your club has not included an email address for your club’s sitting Treasurer, please share this email with them.
• The deadline for signing the disclaimer is 5pm on October 31^st. Late submissions will not be accepted.

IABA clubs have benefited from Sport Ireland Covid 19 Resilience funding over the course of the last 3 years. In 2023, IABA through this fund, provided €355 affiliation fee co-funding to every club, reducing the fees per club by 42% for the current season. In 2021, IABA was awarded €259,000 in Covid 19 funding toward equipment for clubs and units. This funded the 2022 allocation of equipment worth €1,000 to 259 clubs/units who successfully applied; in addition, related funding facilitated IABA’s payment of €650 affiliation fees for the 2022/2023 season to re-affiliating clubs. In 2020, €379,000 was allocated to 200 clubs and county boards under a similar funding stream, on application.

If you have any questions, please contact National Development Manager, James Geraghty, through james@iaba.ie

IABA’s Cork Boxing Development Officer, Kristian Bunicic, has partnered with Cork Sports Partnership, and Niche Cork to deliver a new Women’s Startbox Programme, beginning this month.

This 6-week programme focuses on fun introductory boxing. If you ever wanted to try boxing; get fit, get strong and experience one of the best workouts you will ever have then this is the programme for you!

The coach will take you through your paces, targeting all fitness levels and abilities. This is a fantastic opportunity to try a new sport while also challenging yourself! 

Programme Details:

• Start Date: Thurs, 19th Oct
• Duration: 6 Thursday Evenings (no session 19th Oct)
• Where: St Marys Hall Foyle Avenue, Knocknaheeney
• Time: 7-8pm
• Cost: €20pp
• Who: Adult Women
• Note: No equipment is needed!
• Register: eventmaster.ie/event/AwowSjlIlv

IABA’s Sligo Boxing Development Officer, Maeve Clarke, has partnered with Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership to create “Let’s Go!”.

This is a new community based StartBox programme, designed specifically for girls aged 11 to 17 years of age. This 6 week pilot programme is non-contact, and will focus on fun, social connection and developing excellent fundaments of boxing.

Let’s Go! will take place at The Crib, Sligo Town, every Thursday from 7.30-8.30pm, beginning on October 26th.

Participants can register here. For more information, please contact IABA Sligo Boxing Development Officer, Meave Clarke, through maeve@iaba.ie