National spots up for grabs at U-16 Boxing Championships

The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) will host the sixth Caribbean School Boys and Junior Boxing Championships from August 18-20.

The GBA begins a rigorous selection process to continue their dominance at the event by staging the monthly Under-16 Championships at the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis Gym in Albouystown from Sunday.

Based on the results from the aforementioned tournament, boxers will be selected and subsequently encamped two weeks before the prestigious regional championship, the only one of its kind in the Caribbean

The competition, the brainchild of the incumbent GBA President, Steve Ninvalle,  will be staged at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.

At the moment, the 2023 iteration has confirmed the participation of the largest contingent in the event’s burgeoning history, with confirmed representation emanating from the likes of Aruba, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and The Bahamas. Guyana has emerged as the overall Champion County in each edition.

Similarly, to improve the quality of its training and preparatory apparatus, the GBA will conduct a Referees/Judges Training Seminar from August 14th-17th.

The yearly forum, which will be administered by Three Star Trainer James Beckles of Trinidad and Tobago, is being staged to sensitize and educate the respective participants on the new rule changes that have been implemented by the world governing body, the International Boxing Association (IBA) to ensure uniformity and clarity.

“There is no obligation to or for success. In basic terminology, what was subsequently reaped is what was initially sowed. As such, the GBA has again demonstrated its visionary approach and aptitude for success by implementing programmes, policies, and initiatives that drive this empirical agenda and mandate”, Ninvalle stated.

“Unarguably, the Caribbean School Boys and Junior Championships, a unique platform in the region, especially in the English-speaking strata, not only form but is the backbone of Guyana’s future in the discipline.

It is our most important element in sustaining our dominance at the various levels in the region, and has effectively, evolved into the de facto World Championships of the region, something that the Guyanese public and sporting fraternity should be proud of.”