Entries to the 2026 National Elite Championship are being accepted via clubs’ Blocworx portals.

Entries close at 5pm on Friday, January 2nd; the draw will take place on Tuesday, January 6th.

Boxing, taking place at the the National Stadium, will begin on January 9th.

All boxers are required to complete the Declaration Form available for download HERE and return to High Performance Director Jon Mackey via jon.mackey@iaba.ie by close of entries.

All boxers are also requested to express their consent for content capture for the championship finals, HERE

Competition Circular

High Performance Selection Policy

Tickets

Tickets are available for individual days of boxing throughout these championships, and passes for the entire competition encompassing all days of boxing. All seating is general admission, and tickets are available for:

• Adults: full competition €80/one day €25
• OAPs: full competition €40/one day €10
• People aged 18-23 in full time education or training: full competition €40/one day €10
• Children under 18: full competition €40/one day €10
• Club ticket for 2 adults and 10 children: finals, only €100

Tickets may be purchased here: https://iaba.ie/club-zone/buy-tickets/

Aoife O’Rourke has been nominated for the Her Sport Athlete of the Year accolade.

Aoife’s outstanding achievements in 2025 are unprecedented and may well be unrepeatable: She won World silver in March at the IBA Women’s World Championships, and 6 months later almost to the day, World gold at the World Boxing Championships.  Boxing’s changing standing global governance landscape means this feat may not be replicable by any other Irish boxer, ever. On her journey in to the annals of Irish boxing lore in Liverpool, Aoife defeated Norway’s Sunniva Hofstad, the only boxer in the world this year to have won gold at every World Boxing Cup.

Outside boxing, she and her sister she, and her sister Lisa, became women’s doubles Hyrox World Champions in April of 2025, and were first ranked by age in the Hyrox Hamburg elite event in October.

Aoife is nominated along side Clare Melia (Basketball), Ellen Walsh (Swimming), Fiona Murtagh (Rowing), Hannah Tyrell (Football), Kate O’Connor (Heptathlon), Katie McCabe (Soccer), Lara Gillespie (Cycling), Orla Comerford (Para Athletics), Sarah Healy (Athletics)

Vote

You can vote here: https://awards.hersport.ie/. The winner will be announced at a gala event on January 23rd.

A remarkable 12,345 school children have taken part in IABA Ulster Schools programmes this year.

StartBox is a non-contact programme designed to activate children in to sport, and boxing, and was delivered by IABA qualified coaches in 23 primary and secondary school settings* in 2025

This year, 8025 primary school children and 4,321 at second level took part in 6-week programmes in collaboration with their schools. 1,164 children took part in inclusive programmes tailored to their needs and goals

The Ulster Schools Programme is primarily delivered by Club Development Officer, double Olympic medalist Paddy Barnes, double Olympian and Community Coach Brendan Irvine, Community Coach Patrick Gallagher, Belfast Boxing Development Officer Liam Corr with support from local clubs and coaches.

Programmes like StartBox are vital in providing new avenues in to sport, physical literacy and to boxing and are not confined to school settings – In a linked StartBox programme, 150 women and girls were activated in to boxing as part of Ulster IABA’s Women’s Start Here Programme, funded by the Rank Foundation. 10 clubs** in Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down and Tyrone are delivering this training in a programme which began in October, and will conclude at the end of November. This programme follows on the heels of the Belfast Boxing Development project which delivered boxing training to 250 people over the age of 55, through an Irish Athletic Boxing Association programme funded by the Public Health Agency in partnership with Belfast City Council. 14 clubs took part in two programmes from July to October; the second was commissioned by Belfast City Council in response to the success of the first phase. Several participating clubs have now included these Over 55s training sessions in their permanent timetable.

ENDS.

*Participating Schools: Holy Evangelist PS; St Oliver Plunkett PS, St Marys Grammer, Scoil Na Fuiseoige, Boys’ Model, Belfast Model Girls, St Brides, Mitchell House, Victoria College, Glen Parent Youth Club, Shankill LC, Ballysillan LC, Templemore LC, Queens PEC, Grove LC, Ardoyne Holycross, Bloomfield College, St Gerards, Good Shepard PS, St Paul’s PS, Fane Street PS, Trinity College.

**Participating Clubs, Women’s Start Here Programme: Antrim Boxing Club, Antrim; Ardoyne Boxing Club, Antrim; Cairn Lodge Boxing Club, Antrim; Carrickfergus Boxing Club, Antrim; Castle Boxing Club, Antrim; Craigavon City Boxing Club, Armagh; Dungannon Boxing Club, Tyrone; Holy Trinity Boxing Club, Antrim; Oak Leaf Boxing Club, Derry; St. John Bosco Boxing Club, Newry Co. Down

***Participating Clubs, Over 55s Programme: Midland Boxing Club; Immaculata Boxing Club; Star Boxing Club; Cairnlodge Boxing Club; Ormeau Road Boxing Club; Holy Family Boxing Club; Ledley Hall Boxing Club; St Johns Bosco Boxing Club; Saints Boxing Club; Dockers Boxing Club; Ardoyne Boxing Club; St Michaels Boxing Club; St Pauls Boxing Club 

Central Council has confirmed the dates of the first 7 National Championships of 2026.

All below competitions will be boxed at the National Stadium Dublin. Central Council has held February free of competition for boxers BG1-J2 to enable applicable competition in Provincial Units.

2026 National Elite Championships

This competition, for Elite athletes aged 19 to 40 by year of birth in 2026, will take place:

January 9th, 10th and 11th, and January 16th and 17th.

The number of days boxed will be dependent on entries.

2026 National BG4, Junior 1 & Junior 2 Championships

These three championships will be boxed concurrently on the following dates:

March 6th, 7th and 8th, and March 13th, 14th and 15th.

The BG4 Championship is for boxers born in 2011.

The Junior 1 Championship is for boxers born 2010

The Junior 2 Championship is for boxers born 2009

2026 National BG 1, 2 & 3 Championships

These three championships will be boxed concurrently on the following dates:

April 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th. 

The BG1 Championship is for boxers born in 2014

The BG2 Championship is for boxers born 2013

The BG3 Championship is for boxers born 2012

Entries are now being accepted, through club’s Blocworx portals, for the 2026 National Elite Championships

Entries will close at 5pm on Friday, January 2nd, and the draw will take place on Tuesday, January 6th.

Boxing, taking place at the the National Stadium, will begin on January 9th.

All boxers are required to complete the Declaration Form available for download HERE and return to High Performance Director Jon Mackey via jon.mackey@iaba.ie by close of entries.

All boxers are also requested to express their consent for content capture for the championship finals, HERE

Competition Circular

High Performance Selection Policy