Team Ireland’s 18 strong squad are gearing-up for the European U22 Championships.
The tournament is being hosted by the Croatian Boxing Federation and will take place in at the Intersport Sport Hall, Poreč from March 11th to 24th.
The squad is comprised of 18 boxers – 9 men and 9 women, and includes reigning 2022 IABA U22 Champions.
Light welterweight, James McDonagh, is in the ring on the opening day of competition, taking on Kerem Ozmen of Turkey. The Irishman will box out of the red corner when he gets between the ropes in Bout 5 of Ring B’s evening session.
Light middleweight, Darragh Gilroy, is the next member of Team Ireland in action on Sunday.
He will take on Hungary’s Istvan Gerzsenyi on Bout 7, also in Ring B’s evening session.
34. 80kg John Sweeney (Olympic C) V William Keenan (Leeside Lough)
35. 85kg Bobby Jo Keddy (Monkstown D) W/O
36. 85kg James Heaphy (Leeside Lough) V John Patrick McKinney (Star A)
37. 91kg Aoife O’Dowd (Castlerea) W/O
38. 91kg John McDonagh (Saviours Crystal)V Dean Cox (Enniscorthy)
39. 92kg Josh Saunders (St Brigids L) W/O40.
40. 102kg Rocky Ward (Saviours Crystal) V Oto Kheguri (Celtic Eagles)
41. 106kg David McDonagh (Tredagh) W/O
Competition arrangements:
Anti-Doping: Boxers must provide details of any medication they are taking or have taken in the preceding 4 weeks. Anti-Doping may be carried out at any stage of the competition.
Attention is called to the stipulation in the IABA Rule book that each boxer presented by his/her club shall be fit to box. This is the responsibility of the club.
Attire: Coaches must wear tracksuits and runners in their corners at all sessions and endeavour to set a high standard of hygiene. Only qualified coaches are permitted in corners.
N.B. It is a condition of entry that all boxers and their clubs have signed and submitted the Members Acknowledgement Form and it is the responsibility of the entering unit that this stipulation is complied with.
Gumshields: Red/Orange/Pink or variations of these colours are not allowed.
Any boxer who is participating in other contact sports (see www.iba.sport) shall be removed from these Championships.
Rounds: Boxing will be 3 x 1 ½ minute rounds for Boy/Girl 4 and 3 x 2 minute rounds for Junior 1 and Junior 2
Entries: Only those sent by the Secretaries of the Provincial Councils and of the Antrim and Dublin County Boards shall be accepted. Entries must be submitted by 5pm on Friday 4th March.
At the conclusion of the Unit Championships, details of names, club, age (B4/G4/J1/J2) and weights for the Irish Championships must be sent by email to sally@iaba.ie and to Stephen Connolly at s.connolly1961@yahoo.com If any boxer is moving up in weight from the Unit Championships, the boxers club must notify the Unit Secretary of same before entries are sent. As there was no Championship in 2021, there will be no current champions entering.
Entry Fee: A €10 entry fee applies. This fee will be collected from all boxers at the weigh-in on their first day of boxing. Boxers must also give their Boxing Record Book to National Registrar and Chief Official Stephen Connolly at their initial weigh-in.
Anti-Doping: Boxers must provide details of any medication they are taking or have taken in the preceding 4 weeks. Anti-Doping may be carried out at any stage of the competition.
Attention is called to the stipulation in the IABA Rule book that each boxer presented by his/her club shall be fit to box. This is the responsibility of the club.
Attire: Coaches must wear tracksuits and runners in their corners at all sessions and endeavour to set a high standard of hygiene. Only qualified coaches are permitted in corners.
N.B. It is a condition of entry that all boxers and their clubs have signed and submitted the Members Acknowledgement Form and it is the responsibility of the entering unit that this stipulation is complied with.
Gumshields: Red/Orange/Pink or variations of these colours are not allowed.
Any boxer who is participating in other contact sports (see www.iba.sport) shall be removed from these Championships.
As part of Women in Sport Week, and marking today’s Leadership theme, Irish Boxing’s Sport Ireland Women in Sport Leadership programme graduates have gathered some information that clubs may find helpful in supporting women and girls in boxing. This may be particularly useful to clubs whose female membership is growing.
The document includes information on:
Willingness
Participation
Progression
Coaching
Menstruation
Visibility
Voice
Club champion
The document also includes information on the significant way in which women contribute to Irish boxing – in terms of coaching, sport administration, competition and committee roles.
This document is part of the #FollowHerLead2022 suite of programmes, which has already included:
Menstrual Cycle & Nutrition online seminar: almost 70 clubs attended this seminar, enabling coaches to understand the impact of the menstrual cycle on their boxers’ training, and support coaches in realizing their boxers’ full athletic potential.
Lead – Women’s Boxing Programme: IABA is funding the provision of a free 6-week programme for new women members in clubs across Ireland. Applications close today and the programme will begin shortly.
Champions – IABA will shortly invite expressions of interest from key women of boxing in every county to act as Boxing Ambassadors to women competitors, sports administrators, coaches and volunteers in their areas.
This first pillar of programmes and resources will be followed later this year by second suite of supports for clubs, and WIS Lead, Louise McKenzie welcomes your input on how best to support bringing more women and girls in to boxing in training, in competition, coaching or volunteering. You can get in touch with Louise through louise.mckenzie@iaba.ie
