The Irish Athletic Boxing Association, in collaboration with Cork Sport Partnership, is delighted to announce the recruitment of the first ever Cork Regional Boxing Development Officer.
The appointment recognises Cork city and county’s proud boxing heritage. The role ensures Ireland’s most successful Olympic sport is open to even more people through boxing development programmes in a variety of settings, with a particular emphasis on IABA’s StartBox programme.
This full-time position is of strategic importance to the IABA in achieving its programme development goals and enhancing existing professional structures. The IABA is honoured to work with Cork Sport Partnership and Sport Ireland, through the Dormant Accounts Fund, in creating this role, and hopes this may be the first of several such roles in strategic locations around Ireland.
Applicants are invited to send a CV along with a Cover Letter to info@iaba.ie no later than 5pm on the 17th of November, 2022. The IABA is an equal opportunities employer
The 2023 Irish National Elite Championships will take place in January.
This will be the first time the Elites have been contested since September 2021. The jewel in the crown of Irish boxing will be hosted in The National Stadium, Dublin, beginning on January 12th, 6 months before the first Paris Olympics qualifier at the European Games, Poland, in June 2023.
Entries will open in early December and will close on or about January 6th. The method of entry and competition particulars, including draw and weigh-in, will be issued at the opening of entries in December.
Sport Ireland has its Sports Energy Support Scheme to boxing clubs, and there are 7 days remaining in which boxing clubs can submit their applications. The application process takes under 5 minutes.
The funding is designed to support boxing clubs with rising energy costs associated with delivering training, including indoor activity in winter, the provision of outdoor floodlighting, etc.
Sport Ireland will only accept applications under this scheme from boxing clubs which own/lease the sporting facilities and/or which are the primary utility bill payer.
Please note that Sport Ireland will not award grant funding under this scheme in these instances:
General cost of living increases including increased costs in accommodation, rent, rates or labour costs are not eligible.
As per Government direction, fuel costs associated with machinery, vehicles, travel or transport do not qualify
Non-energy related increases or pre-existing debts or deficits are also ineligible.
Boxing clubs eligible for support under the Governments Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) are recommended to consider this avenue in the first instance. Sport Ireland has indicated that clubs cannot apply to both schemes
If you club has utility bills in its own name, and can provide bills from 2019 and 2022, if requested by Sport Ireland of successful applicants, clubs can apply here. Applications close at 5pm on November 7th. Clubs which do not utility bills from 2019 and 2022 to hand can request them of their utility provider.
Sport Ireland has advised that it does not expect to pay grants to any successful sporting club until early 2023.
Sport Ireland will assess and allocate the Sport Energy Scheme funding to the IABA on behalf of the clubs, with distribution expected in Quarter One of 2023.
Meeting the eligibility criteria and/or submitting an application is no guarantee that your application will be successful, and a grant will be awarded. Clubs can only submit one application.
If you require any assistance, please contact IABA National Development Manager, James Geraghty, through james@iaba.ie
The countdown is on to the World Youth Championships in La Nucia, Spain. Team Ireland’s 24 boxers depart on November 12th.
In all, 89 countries and 684 boxers will contest the tournament, of whom 476 are youth men and 208 are youth women.
Almost half of all contestants are from federations within the EUBC.
The tournament will be contested at 25 weights – 13 male weights and 12 female weights. The largest weight for men, in terms of the number of boxers entered is lightweight (60kg) – 52 boxers will contest. For women, featherweight (57kg) is the largest, with 24 boxers.
Team Ireland departs on November 12th. The draw takes place on November 14th and boxing, at Ciudad Deportiva & Camilo Cano. Preliminaries and Quarter Finals will be boxed between November 15th and 22nd; semi finals take place on November 23rd. There’s a rest day on November 24th and finals will be boxed on November 25th.
Two rings will be in operation up to completion of the semi-finals; finals will be boxed in a single ring and the IBA will stream all bouts on its YouTube channel.
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association has made significant strides towards best practice governance in a few short months and is clearing the road ahead for further progress.
The Board of Directors, working with the Association’s Executive, staff and Central Council, has been in on-going contact with Sport Ireland to advance IABA towards this standard. As Minister Jack Chambers recently noted, over 70% of reform recommendations have been accepted.
At Board of Directors level, IABA has appointed an interim chair -Tom Geraghty. Some weeks ago, IABA began the process of recruiting a permanent, independent Chairperson, and that process is on-going.
A newly ratified appointee to the Board, Neil Gough, took up his seat last week. Affiliated boxing clubs will shortly be asked to vote to fill two more seats on the Board. Of the three candidates, two have finance and/or governance expertise, a third has notable international and Olympic boxing credentials. Two of the candidates are women. This election of non-Executive Directors is in line with reform recommendations and align with the path adopted by the members at Convention in Bellmullet in 2019.
The Board, working with the Executive and Central Council can also confirm that Championship & Competitions, Athlete Performance & Selection, Coaching and R&J committees are in the process of establishment, with staff support. These committees, all of which are vital governance milestones, will shortly be populated and will oversee growth and development in these areas of our sport.
The Central Council, and National Secretary Antoinette Fay McClean, has reformed the coach education pathway working collaboratively with staff. The pathway was formally announced in August the first 5 Fundamentals: Assistant Coach course will take place over the next five weeks, in Dublin, Connacht and Ulster. Level 1 and Level 2 coach education courses are being developed, in partnership with staff, to meet Sport Ireland coach education standards. They will be unveiled in 2023. IABA Coach Tutors are also undergoing Disability Inclusion Training, to infuse Fundamentals, Level 1 and Level 2 coach qualifications with inclusion principles.
IABA Interim Chairperson, Tom Geraghty, says “We’ve made significant progress in the last three and a half months, and we recognise there is more progress to be made. Recruitment and elections to the Board of Directors are cornerstone of that progress. Equally important is the establishment of committees to oversee competition elements of our sport. High quality officiating and coaching education will also ensure Irish boxing remains at its very high standard and will be equipped to aim even higher in the future because of the protocols and structures being developed today.”
Interim CEO, John Nangle says “Clubs are the lifeblood of our sport, and the Association. In the coming weeks, we will seek the views of clubs on governance reform and their opinions on the path of travel of Irish Boxing. This consultation will inform the way in which we move towards achieving our governance goals and, ultimately, how we vie for gold outside the ring, as well as within it”
President, Gerry O’Mahony says “A remarkable number of governance and reform actions have been completed in recent weeks, showing true partnership between the Board of Directors, Officer Board and staff. As we have acknowledged, there is a schedule of work ahead which both Boards, and staff, are preparing to undertake. The pace of change, while swift, is measured and is targeted at improving the structures in which our boxers, our clubs and our community can thrive.”
