Boxers Harrington and Irvine to carry flag as the Olympics drive towards gender balance

Team Ireland has named the two flagbearers who will carry the Irish flag in the athlete’s parade at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020. Boxers Kellie Harrington and Brendan Irvine have been selected in what is a monumental move in the Olympic family to strive for gender equality, with all participating nations have been invited to nominate a male and female athlete to carry the flag. The Opening Ceremony takes place on Friday the 23 July 2021 at 12 noon Irish time (8pm local time).

Boxing is Ireland’s most successful Olympic sport, with sixteen of the thirty-one Irish medals having been won by boxers. Irvine is competing in his second Olympic Games, while Harrington is embarking on her first, and is going into the tournament as one of the top seeded boxers in the lightweight (-60kg) category.

Speaking on her selection, Harrington said,

“This means so much to me, to be able to represent not only myself as a person, but as a boxer, for boxing, for my family and for Ireland. It’s an amazing honour, there are so many athletes out here, and to be chosen as one of the flagbearers is absolutely fantastic. I can’t believe it really. Walking out there and realising I’m the flagbearer, it’s the start of the Olympic Games, and I’m at the pinnacle of our sport.”

Her teammate Irvine is also the boxing team captain, competing in the Flyweight category (-49kg), Harrington describes their pride;

“I know Brendy a long time now, and he is a fantastic person. He is what you call a leader; he leads the team. I’m so happy that it’s him out there with me. I just know we will be looking at each other and smiling. We will be feeling so proud, and I know his family and friends and community are quite like mine and everyone will be so proud of our achievements. I’m absolutely delighted.”

Almost half of the 116 Team Ireland athletes are currently residing in the Olympic village, as well as teams who are settling into the satellite venues. Team Ireland action begins on Friday 23 July 2021, with the rowers in action just ahead of the Opening Ceremony. Over the coming days we will be providing a full event schedule and details of where the Games can be followed. The Olympic Games in Tokyo run from Friday 23 July – Sunday 8 August, with 116 Irish athletes competing.

Thanks to the Olympic Federation of Ireland: https://olympics.ie/two-team-ireland-flagbearers-selected-for-tokyo-2020-opening-ceremony/

INTRODUCTION:

Please be advised, clubs will be able to affiliate to the IABA for season 2021/22 from 12:00 pm (noon) Monday 19th July. The affiliation period will run from 19th July until the 31st of August. Please note, only bodies (clubs, county boards and provincial councils) who have fully completed the IABA’s affiliation process before 1st September will be viewed as affiliated to the IABA and will continue to enjoy the privileges of membership.

Online / Digital Affiliation Process:

• Club secretaries will be emailed a link to access the online affiliation platform via email on Monday 19th July which will allow them to access the online affiliation form.

• Click on the link and use the unique log in details provided in the email from IABA head office after 12:00 (noon) Monday 19th to access the online affiliation platform.

• From there, a club can complete and submit their application for affiliation for processing.

• To assist clubs and to help to expediate the process the IABA have included the most up to date membership data from the last run affiliation process (season 2019/20) which will allow clubs to include members from this list by simply pressing the ‘active’ option or to exclude members by selecting the ‘non active’ option.

• Please note, members who are selected as being ‘non active’ will not be recorded as current members of the club and will be removed from the clubs overall list of members on submission of the application.

• In addition, clubs will also have the option of adding new members to their overall list of members.

• Easy to follow, instructional videos will be made available to members.

• Staff will also be available to assist members with the digital affiliation process.

• Clubs in Munster, Leinster and Connacht can submit their queries to james@iaba.ie

• Clubs, County Boards and Provincial Councils in Ulster can submit their queries to ulsterfinance@iaba.ie.

PAYMENT:
The cost of affiliation for clubs for season 2021/22 will be €250 euro / £220 stg. The duration of affiliation / insurance cover for season 2021/22 will run from the 1st of September 2021 until the 30th of April 2022.

WAYS TO PAY:

Online:
Clubs will be presented with an option of paying through a digital payment platform. Once a club has completed the application part of the process correctly, they will be issued an email with a link to the online payment platform, from there they will be able to use a credit card, visa debit card, etc to pay the affiliation/insurance fee.

Cheque / Postal Order:
Clubs can also pay by cheque / postal order (Payable to IABA), by posting, marked Affiliation to IABA Head Office, 145 The National Stadium, South Circular Road, Dublin. D08 HY40. Clubs MUST include a note with payment which identifies which club the payment is for and a point of contact in the club (I.E. This cheque is to pay the affiliation / insurance fees for CLUB X. For more information, please contact John Doe 087-XXXXXXX)

Bank Transfer/Payment over phone:
Clubs wishing to pay their IABA affiliation / insurance via bank transfer or by credit / debit card over the telephone need to contact sally@iaba.ie to request a unique reference number and further details will then be provided.

NB: No CASH payments will be accepted.

NB: Please be advised, all affiliation monies for season 2021/22 should be submitted to IABA Head Office in Dublin from all bodies. IABA Head Office will then reimburse County Boards and Provincial Councils with the €5/£5 affiliation fee submitted by each appropriate body that affiliates in their region, following the completion of the affiliation process.

All clubs wishing to affiliate to the IABA for season 2021/22 MUST have completed the Covid-19 return to boxing protocols and have been issued a permission letter from IABA head office, please see link for more information – http://iaba.ie/covid-19-guidance/.

Please be aware, submission of an affiliation application and payment of affiliation does not mean a body is successfully affiliated. All applications must be fully reviewed and signed off before a body will be deemed successfully affiliated. For the avoidance of doubt the membership shall only become effective on the date all approvals have been finalised. If a dispute arises in relation to a body’s application for affiliation to IABA which leads to the application not being accepted, any monies paid as part of the affiliation process will be refunded to the body in question.

Clubs can change their mind about affiliating to the IABA. To do this, your club will need to give notice in writing. You can do this at any time up to 30th September 2021 after making your membership application and your entire membership will end. If you or any of your linked members enters a club to use the facilities during the cancellation period, the IABA will charge a proportion of the affiliation fee to cover this period and we will refund the balance of any fees you have already paid.

Clubs will only be viewed as affiliated members of the IABA following receipt of an official affiliation letter of acceptance from IABA head office.

Kind Regards,
IABA Membership Team

Dear members,

Please be advised that following a Central Council meeting on 16th July, the affiliation process for the new boxing season will only occur online. Instructional videos will be issued to help clubs navigate the process. If clubs still require help, they are asked to write to the National Secretary who will arrange assistance.

With Covid-19 case numbers rising throughout the country, we in the IABA must be proactive in helping to curb the spread of the virus and hence no physical forms or cash payments will be used. 

Also, please be advised that ‘Inter-club sparring’ is currently not allowed. With the Covid case numbers starting to rise again, we within the boxing community must play our part and try to mitigate the potential spread of the virus.

This means that sparring can only take place between members of the same club. 

Kind regards,

Paddy Gallagher

National Secretary

AIBA has rescheduled the International Boxing Day from July 22 to August 27 to connect the date with the first edition of the AIBA World Boxing Championships, which was held in Havana, Cuba in 1974. 

The competition was held between August 17 and August 30, 1974, where 11 champions were crowned and the host country topped the medal table. 

International Boxing Day originated in Russia, in 2017, following the initiative of Umar Kremlev in his role as Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation. In 2019, AIBA recognized and designated International Boxing Day to be celebrated every year and encouraged the global boxing family, fans, partners and stakeholders to join forces in celebrating.

Dear Clubs/Co Boards/Provincial Councils,

Please see attached document updating you on this year’s IABA affiliations.

More detailed information relating to this season’s affiliation process will be issued to all Clubs, County Boards and Provincial Councils in the coming days.