IABA is launching the Strategic Plan 2024-2028, In Your Corner, today, as Irish Boxing prepares to celebrate its Olympic centenary.
Development of this strategy was driven by members and included an online member consultation, in October-November 2023 and 7 in-person member consultation workshops at locations throughout the Association, between November and February. Consultations also took place with key stakeholders, such as SportNI, Sport Ireland, and the Olympic Federation of Ireland.
A 23 strong team has been named to contest the European U17 Championships in Kienbaum Germany – the inaugural World Boxing confederation-level champions for 15 and 16 year old athletes.
The team of National Champions includes boxers from 8 counties: Antrim (6),Cork (3) Donegal (1), Dublin (5), Galway (2), Tipperary (1) Westmeath (3) and Wexford (2) – among them mulitple European medalists at Schools/U15 and Junior/U17 levels.
IABA will deliver a minimum of 16 Safeguarding learning workshops in 2026.
This will include at least 12 online Safeguarding One workshops, and 4 online Safeguarding Two workshops.
All adults – coaches, committee members & non-coaching volunteers – in every club who have contact with children are required to have undertaken Safeguarding 1.
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association is delighted to affirm the appointment of Damian Kennedy as Interim High Performance Head Coach, following the retirement from Irish Boxing of Zauri Antia.
Hailing from Toome on the shores of Lough Neagh in County Antrim, Damian has 3 decades of coaching experience at all levels of the IABA. Damian was TeamNI Boxing Head Coach for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, when the team topped the medals table with a record number of podium finishes. An Olympic coach, he has also held event-specific leadership roles at National level, including as Head Coach of the Team Ireland at the 2nd Olympic Qualifier in Bangkok, when four boxers booked their seats on the plane to Paris in addition to coaching at the Games.
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.
This competition, for Elite athletes aged 19 to 40 by year of birth in 2026, will take place:
To mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the IABA is proud to celebrate the High Five Boxing Academy and the boxers, families, and clubs that make it an inspiring part of our community.
Launched in 2021 across four Dublin clubs, Drimnagh, Crumlin, St. Catherine’s, and Palmerstown by Paddy Dingle High Five was created to offer children with additional needs, and their families, a welcoming place within boxing.