The WA state titles took place as planned in front of a packed house at the Adriatic Club in Stirling over the first weekend in December. There was an excellent turnout with spectators queueing up at each session to support the stars of the future battling to secure the local bragging rights. The national coach was in attendance together with members of the national team including Caitlin Parker who was back in town for the first time since securing a place at the Tokyo Olympics at the Asia/Oceania Olympic qualification event. Finals night was lit up by a number of very high quality contests in each age group which bodes well for the state whenever the national championships next take place.

The high performance programme initiative of delivering athlete development sessions at grass roots level in each of the member associations continued after the Boxing WA board organised a development day at the Western Australia Institute of Sport (WAIS) High Performance service centre in Claremont for the weekend following the state titles. The national coach together with HP athletes Harry Garside, Alex Winwood and Caitlin parker welcomed over sixty athletes to WAIS and delivered three interactive sessions targeting all aspects of technical and tactical skills as well as drills used to develop speed, agility, balance and coordination. Caitlin, Harry and Alex spoke at length to the athletes on a wide range of topics and recounted how they too were once in their position hungry for knowledge and experience and the opportunity to test themselves at the highest level. The day was very well received by all in attendance and it is envisaged that these activities will continue to be delivered around the country as an integral part of the Combat Institute’s high performance programme.

The new year will begin with a categorisation camp at the AIS in the third week in January involving athletes that attended the Asia/Oceania Olympic qualification event together with their home coaches. However a recent outbreak of Covid-19 cases in both NSW and Vic has meant that a number of invited athletes and coaches will not now be able to attend. It is likely that the elite HP athletes will continue to train and prepare as best they can in their home daily training environment (DTE) until such time as it becomes much safer to travel both domestically and internationally.

The National Futures Program is excited and passionate about the development of the best performing athletes across Australia. The Futures program for 2021 / 2022 will now include the state’s best performing Junior, Youth and Elite boxers 19-23yrs.

The National Futures coach Jamie Pittman is currently working with the AIS Pathways team and the State Futures coaches on structured recruitment / selection camps for 2021 and the program is looking to hit the ground running across Australia.

Boxing ACT News

BACT will be running the following events:

• 30 Jan – Inter-club Sparring, Blue Book Stamping and Annual Medicals – Location: Stockade Training Centre (sparring open to NSW clubs from areas not designated by ACT Government as COVID hotspots)
• 20 Feb 2021 – ACT Tournament - Location:  Gold Creek High School
• 07 Feb 2021 – Futures Camp (by invitation only) – Location: TBC
• 14 Feb 2021 – Development Camp – Location: TBC

Boxing ACT Female Participation Program

Boxing ACT, with support from its affiliated gyms and ACT Sports and Recreation, is currently running a program to increase female participation in the sport.

The program incorporates two major initiatives. The first initiative, completed in late 2020, has increased female leadership within the sport through sponsorship of six women to complete First Aid and Level 1 Coaching Courses.

The second initiative is aimed at increasing the number of female athletes by conducting a targeted marketing campaign and running free 8-week introductory training courses where women and girls can learn the basics, led by female coaches. The aim of these courses is to equip women and girls with the basic skills and knowledge to join a gym and continue their participation in the sport.

The first introductory course commences on 7th February, and was booked out within 24 hours of calling for nominations.

Future courses will be run during each school term throughout 2021.

Boxing QLD News

BQLD kicks off the year with a Development camp in Mackay on the 27/28^th of January, hosted by the Mackay Boxing Club at the Mackay PCYC. Further information is available on the Boxing Queensland website.

A second tournament will be run in South East Queensland on the 27^th of January. BQLD is finalising details on this event. More information will be available on the Boxing Queensland website shortly.

All coaches must hold a current blue card, linked to Boxing Queensland. Blue cards are obtained through the Queensland blue card website. NO CARD, NO PARTICIPATION.

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