The Irish team to contest the 73rd International Boxing Tournament STRANDJA has been named
60kg Tokyo Olympics gold medallist, Kellie Harrington, and Tokyo Olympians, Michaela Walsh and Aoife O’Rourke, are among the boxers representing Ireland in the Bulgarian capital.
Also included in the squad in 2021 W48kg Elite champion, Shannon Sweeney, 2021 European U22 gold medallist, Dean Clancy, 2022 Irish U22 W50kg champion, Caitlin Fryers, 2021 Golden Gong multi nations gold 71kg medallist and boxer of the tournament, Luke Maguire
The tournament has been selected to be part of the new Golden Gloves Series of World Boxing Tour by the IBA. IABA boxers will represent Ireland in 15 weight divisions at this Elite tournament: 8 female and 7 male.
IABA boxers will represent Ireland in 15 weight divisions at this Elite tournament: 8 female and 7 male.
Strandja Multi-Nations Sofia, Bulgaria February 18th-28th.
Irish Squad:
F48kg Shannon Sweeney
F50kg Caitlin Fryers
F52kg Carly McNaul
F57kg Michaela Walsh
F60kg Kellie Harrington
F63kg Amy Broadhurst
F70kg Christina Desmond
F75kg Aoife O’Rourke
57kg Adam Hession
60kg JP Hale
63.5kg Dean Clancy
67kg Eugene McKeever
71kg Luke Maguire
80kg Kelyn Cassidy
92kg+ Thomas Maughan
The tournament takes place in Sofia, Buglaria, from February 18th to 28th.
The draw will take place late afternoon, on February 19th. Preliminaries begin on February 20th, at 12pm GMT, 2pm local time.
Tournament arrangements are available here and information on how to watch our boxers in action is to follow.
IABA’s Women in Sport Lead, Louise McKenzie, is launching a suite of new programmes, coach and club resources to further the incredible work clubs are already doing in supporting women and girls in boxing.
These resources will be released over the coming weeks and include:
Menstrual Cycle & Nutrition onlineseminar: this will enable coaches to understand the impact of the menstrual cycle on their boxers’ training, and support coaches in realizing their boxers’ full athletic potential. Registration will open on Monday, and registration details will be sent to all clubs.
Lead – Women’s Boxing Programme: IABA will fund the provision of a free 6-week programme for new women members in 20 clubs. Clubs will be asked to express their interest in running this programme in the coming weeks. We’ll also provide social media images and logos to help clubs advertise their participation in this free programme.
The IABA Women’s Mentor group, all of whom are graduates of the Sport Ireland Women in Sport Leadership programme, is gathering tips, advice and guidance for any club which wishes to increase the number of women and girls in their membership. This leaflet will be released in March.
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 Louise 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 IABA is also preparing for Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport Week, March 7th to 14th, when we will celebrate the role of women in boxing, be that in training, in volunteering, in coaching, competing, or sports administration, across all of our social media platforms
25 National U22 champions were crowned in the home of Irish boxing, the National Stadium, today, in a fantastic display of the quality of Irish boxing.
These, and the U18 finals on Friday, were the first to be boxed at the stadium in front of spectators since March, 2020.
26 National U18 Champions were crowned at the National Stadium on Friday, in the first bouts to be boxed in front of a crowd at the iconic venue since March, 2020:
Champions by walk-over:
44kg Karl Reilly (Immaculata A)
48kg Georgia McGovern (Setanta L)
48kg Patsy Joyce (Olympic L)
60kg Lehane (Rylane)
63kg Winnie McDonagh (Neilstown)
66kg Gabrielle Mongan (Whitechurch)
75kg Emma Keating (Paulstown)
81kg Dearbhla Tinnelly (Clann Naofa)
92+kg Bernie Cawley (St. David’s, Naas)
46kg Louis Rooney (Star A) beat Dylan Foy (Banbridge) 5-0
Walkovers on Saturday in bouts 2, 3, 15, 18 and 22.
Competition Arrangements:
Venue: National Stadium, Dublin.
Dates: February 4th and 5th.
Weigh-in and Medical: Weigh-ins are daily, on the day of boxing. A medical will be performed on each boxer on their first day of competition and boxers must complete all Covid-19 medical checks on each day they box. Boxing Record books and entry fee to be presented by the boxer at their initial weigh-in.
Weigh-in dates: February 4th and 5th: 8.00am – 9.00am & 12.00pm – 1.00pm
It is a condition of entry that all competitors have a signed Waiver/Members Acknowledgement Form and adhere to any agreement made with the Association sponsors.
Anti-Doping may be carried out at any stage of the championships and all boxers must advise the doctor of any medication they are taking or have taken in the preceding 4 weeks. It is imperative that all boxers adhere to the Anti-Doping Rules and Regulations. For any queries regarding this matter, boxers/coaches should contact Mr Larry Morrison, IABA Anti-Doping Officer on 086-0292476.
Non-Pregnancy Declaration forms must be signed.
Attire: Boxers shall have one red and one blue vest. Boxers must not wear long sleeved shirts under their vests. Hair must be tied back and cloth swimming hats or hairnets should be worn under the headgear for boxers with long hair. No red, orange or pink gum shields are allowed.
Coaches: They must wear track suits and runners at all sessions and endeavour to set a high standard of hygiene in the corners. No shorts, caps or hats are allowed.
Sportsmanship: All decisions must be accepted in a sporting manner. Any complaints must be addressed to the Chief Official, Mr. Stephen Connolly. Please show respect to all Ringside Officials. A document stipulating requirements in relation to conduct and the use of social media must be signed by all boxers and coaches at their initial weigh-in.
Please note that, under AIBA rules, boxers who are engaged in ‘Other Physical Contact Sports’ are not eligible to compete. For more information please visit www.iba.sport
Covid-19 Precautions: For the duration of this Championships, Covid-19 protocols will be in place and all boxers, coaches, officials must abide by these. The exact protocols that will apply will be made known closer to the event as government guidelines will dictate. Any boxer, coach or official who fails to follow the protocols and directives issued, will be removed from the Championships
