IABA is mourning the passing of our wonderful colleague, National Safeguarding Manager, Declan Lynch.

Declan’s life was one of service to his community – foremost as a member of An Garda Siochána in Bray and Greystones for 39 years. Declan was also a member of the Wicklow Sport Partnership for many years, a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Garda Representative Association, a schools basketball coach and a former member of the Boards of Management of two Greystones schools.

Declan volunteered on the committee to host the Croatian team during the Special Olympics and was involved in the Community Games in previous years as a basketball co-ordinator. He was, for a time, Youth Coordinator at Greystones Rugby Club and was a committee member at Greystones United football clubs. Declan was also a key member of the steering committee that delivered, after a years’ long campaign, the Shoreline Centre, a multi-sport and community hub in Greystones. This remarkable achievement was a source of great pride for Declan.

Declan joined IABA in January, 2021, working in the vital and sensitive area of child safeguarding. Many coaches and Secretaries came to know and value Declan over that time – he was a ready listener and loved spending time talking to boxing people. Declan made great strides in ensuring the growth and development of child safeguarding in IABA, which is an important legacy.

Declan is survived by his wonderful family – his wife Majella, his sons Emlyn and Aaron, and his beloved dog, Billy. Declan will be laid to rest on Friday following funeral service in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. Funeral arrangements are here, and any who may wish to leave a message of condolence can do so, there.

Boardmatch Ireland, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the IABA, has opened recruitment for a Chairperson of the Board.

The Irish Athletic Boxing Association’s (IABA) main role is to develop, foster and control amateur boxing in the 32 counties of Ireland. The IABA is committed to provide the environment, in which support and opportunities given to our athletes, coaches and clubs excel, and in doing so to increase participation and improve performance in Irish Boxing. The IABA operates from the National Stadium in Dublin, the only purpose-built amateur boxing stadium in the world and there are currently over 360 clubs affiliated to the association across the Island of Ireland. It is a volunteer led organisation where the hard work, dedication and significant time afforded by each member has contributed to the growing success of the sport in Ireland.

Board composition as per the Constitution is ten Directors. The Board currently has four Directors namely:

• Thomas Geraghty (Interim Chair) 
• Neil Gough
• Charles Toland
• Ted Barry

The Role

The Irish Athletic Boxing Association is seeking suitably qualified and experienced candidates to fill the role of Chair of the Board. This is a voluntary role that requires a significant time commitment to carry out the assigned duties and responsibilities. It is currently anticipated that the successful candidate will have capacity to commit approximately 25 hours per month to the role. This includes the board and committee meetings’ time commitment. The term of office for the Chair will be three years.

Responsibilities of the Chairperson

The Chair will be expected to

• Play a strategic role by communicating effectively the vision and purpose of the organisation, ensure that the Board functions well and that there is full participation at meetings
• To plan and Chair meetings in accordance with the governing document
• To liaise with and work closely with the CEO
• To keep up to date on the affairs of the organisation
• To bring impartiality and objectivity to meetings and decision making
• To ensure that decisions made at meetings are recorded and implemented
• To be aware of current issues that might affect the organisation
• To advocate for and represent the organisation at external meetings and events if required
• To work closely with external funders and partner agencies as required
• Act in the best interests of the organisation, with honesty and good faith towards the IABA’s stakeholders
• Attend the annual general meeting and other general meetings as required
• Sit on a number of agreed Board sub-committees with a view to restructure committees as is deemed suitable for the organisation
• Challenge and contribute to the development of strategy constructively
• Analyse the performance of executive management in meeting agreed goals and objectives for the organisation
• Ensure that they comply with all their obligations as a Director, as required by Company law

Desirable Experience, Skills and Qualities

It is desirable that applicants for the role of Chairperson of the IABA have the following:

• Excellent leadership skills
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Impartiality, fairness and the ability to respect confidences
• Ability to ensure decisions are made and followed-up on
• Good timekeeping
• Tact and diplomacy
• Understanding of the roles/responsibilities of a sports governing body
• Experience as a Non-Executive Director in the not-for profit sector. Experience as a Chair would be a distinct advantage
• Experience of bringing a new team/board together and to share a vison would be an advantage
• Experience at senior level within their field of expertise
• Demonstrable alignment to the IABA values of respect, trust, inclusion, excellence, teamwork, integrity, and leadership
• An understanding of the sport and the organisation
• A desire to implement the highest standards of governance
• Time to effectively carry out the role of Chair of the Board
• A background in Finance and/or Accountancy would be an advantage 

Voluntary board opportunity with Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA)!#IABA are looking to appoint a new Chairperson to their board.

Contact Caradh@boardmatch.ie or visit our website to find out more: https://t.co/mFpAphnC1Q pic.twitter.com/NB1LjR478i

— Boardmatch Ireland (@boardmatch) November 29, 2022

Board Meetings

The board meets monthly and at least four of these meetings will take place in the provincial units, for example Belfast, Galway etc. Currently half of the board meetings take place online with the other half taking place in-person. 

The Chairperson will be asked to join a number of sub-committees. Sub-committee meetings are typically held on the last Thursday of every month.

If you would like to have an informal discussion about the role, please contact Caradh O’Donovan via email caradh@boardmatch.ie or by phone 083-4615128.

Interested candidates should apply by sending a CV and Cover Letter to caradh@boardmatch.ie or via boardmatch.ie

The first phase of the Paris 2024 Ticketing Programme will open on 1 December 2022, giving fans around the world, including Ireland, an opportunity to register for the ticket lottery for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. For the first time, tickets will be sold exclusively on a centralised platform that will be open to all fans worldwide at the same time.

Fans will have until 31 January 2023 to register their interest and enter the world-wide ticket lottery AT THIS LINK

This first phase of the lottery is for ticket packages (combinations of tickets) and will be followed by a second lottery in early 2023 for individual tickets.

Demand for the Paris 2024 Games is set to be at an all-time high, particularly from Ireland, given our proximity and easy access to France. Irish people who are interested in travelling to the Paris for the 2024 games are strongly encouraged to register from 1 December to avoid disappointment.

The Olympic Games in Paris will be a special celebration for Team Ireland. It will be the 100-year anniversary of the first participation of Ireland at the Olympic Games, a Games that was also hosted by Paris, in 1924.

Those who are successful in the first ticket lottery (after the random draw takes place) will have a specific 48-hour purchase timeslot at some point between 15 February and 15 March 2023 to view their ticket availability in real time, to compose their personalised packs, and to purchase their tickets.

In the coming month, the Paris 2024 Hospitality Programme will be launched for the sale of travel packages. This will be delivered by the IOC’s official Hospitality Provider, On Location, represented in Ireland by Elämys Group. For the first time, fans around the world, regardless of their geographical location, will have access to Games hospitality from one provider at a consistent quality and price, with the goal of making Paris 2024 one of the most memorable Games editions in history.

Speaking ahead of the opening of the first ticket phase, Team Ireland Chef de Mission for Paris 2024, Gavin Noble, said,

“We are encouraging anyone with an interest in attending the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as a spectator to register their interest over the coming two months. Registering early and now for tickets is the best way to avoid disappointment, given the high levels of demand expected from Ireland.

“Paris 2024 will be a Games like no other, and with the dual centenary celebrations, for the Paris organisers, and also Team Ireland, it will be a really special experience for both participants and spectators. Anyone interested in travelling to the Games should register their interest from 1 December on the Paris 2024 Global Sales Platform, and to keep an eye on Team Ireland activities HERE.”

Supporting the ambition of making these a Games that can be enjoyed by a greater number of people than ever before, the Paris Organising Committee have announced that nearly 10 million tickets will be available for the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

The second phase of the ticket sales will be a lottery draw for single ticket sales, which will run between March and May 2023.

The Annual General Meeting of the IABA has been scheduled and registration is now open to all clubs which successfully affiliated by November 1st. Registration will close at midday on Thursday, December 1st.

Time: 2.30pm

Date: Sunday, December 4^th

Location: The National Stadium, Dublin.

The following two motions will be proposed, considered and voted upon by Members:

Motion 1:

“That the Company Constitution and the Company Rulebook 2019 be amended to reflect the change of name of the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (otherwise “AIBA”), to the International Boxing Association (otherwise, the “IBA”).”

Motion 1 explained:

On the 22^nd November 2007, as part of a programme of reform, the name of the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur was changed to the International Boxing Association, however the abbreviation of the name remained as the AIBA. In December 2021, the acronym “AIBA” was officially changed to the “IBA.” This was done to rebrand the organisation and to distance itself from the prior administration. The motion before Members today is to amend the IABA Constitution and Rulebook to reflect the acronymic changes to the International Boxing Association. The amendments to the IABA Constitution have been highlighted for ease of reference by Members.

Motion 2:

“That Article 80 be amended with the insertion of sub-paragraph (c) which states that:

The Board may resolve to affiliate, or disaffiliate, the Company with some other association, company or other body where it appears to the Board appropriate to do so and the Board may accept affiliations from associations, companies or other bodies who have an interest in, or association with, boxing on terms set by the Board .”

Motion 2 explained:

In accordance with the main objectives of the Company, which are to foster and develop boxing in Ireland, this addition to the Company Constitution will empower the IABA to affiliate, or disaffiliate, to such other organisations and/or associations, which will assist the Board to promote the main objectives of the Company.

NOTE: The above motion entails an amendment to the Rules of the Association and, accordingly, in accordance with Article 17 of the Company Constitution requires a quorum of 60 affiliated Member Clubs present represented in person by their delegates.

Please find attached:

1. AGM Agenda
2. Notice of Motion, including explanation
3. IABA Draft Constitution
4. IABA Draft Rulebook
5. IABA Audit

Eligibility: All clubs who have submitted affiliations for the 2022/2023 season up to November 1^st are eligible to attend

Attendees: Eligible clubs may nominate any two adult members to attend as delegates – one to be a voting delegate, one to be a non-voting delegate. Delegates nominated by clubs must verified members – this means they must be included in the club’s affiliation application, through Blocworx, for the 2022/2023 season as members and be over the age of 18. *Please note, delegates will be required to present photographic identification (passport, drivers’ licence, etc) on the day of the EGM.  

Registration: available here

IABA’s inaugural in-person Coaching Teenage Girls workshop has taken place

This full day, in person event was funded through Sport Ireland funding ring-fenced for Women in Sport Initiatives. The seminar took place in the Clayton Hotel, Blanchardstown, Dublin, on Saturday November 26th. It is one of a series of initiatives launched by IABA to mark International Day of the Girl on October 11th.

The workshop was aimed at coaches of girls aged 12 to 17. It has been developed by Sport Ireland Coaching in conjunction with the Federation of Irish Sport, the School of Health & Human Performance Dublin City University and Lifes2Good Foundation.

The workshop was developed to enable coaches to create a positive experience of sport and physical activity for girls in their formative years and provide an environment where girls and young women can develop holistically.

A strong emphasis is placed throughout the workshop on supporting coaches to identify and engage in effective coaching practice reflecting the importance of the coach-athlete relationship, and specifically the role of the coach in a young girl’s development. This involves employing a positive and athlete-centred coaching framework, to support the development of the autonomy, capabilities, and sense of belonging that underpin lifelong engagement in sport and physical activity