There is optimism over the vaccine but realism over the time it will take to roll out and the likelihood of a spike in January that will lead to further lockdowns.
The Irish Amateur Boxing Association has fallen to the prospect of the latter with the announcement that the Elite Championships die to be held in January have been postponed.
The Final Olympic Qualifier will be held in London in April and as it stands only Brendan Irvine of the Irish hopefuls has secured a qualification place.
The Elite Championships were being seen as an important stepping stone towards getting fight ready for those bouts in London which were partly completed before the initial lockdown in March.
Discussions had been taking place with the return to Sport Expert Group but they have now concluded for the time being with the decision that January will be too soon.
Over the last number of weeks, several discussions and meetings have been conducted via zoom with Paul McDermott from Sport Ireland, Peter Hogan and James Lavelle from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Fergal Carruth, Bernard Dunne and others from the IABA with regards to a return to full contact training and competition for Elite Boxers.
In a statement issued by the IABA, it said that “The Return to Sport Expert Group, which includes Sport Ireland and Government representatives, recognised the great work which has been conducted by boxing clubs over the last 10 months.”
“Further, they acknowledged the frustration being felt throughout our sport due to current restrictions associated with Covid-19. The Department officials and Sport Ireland were extremely complimentary in relation to the vast body of excellent work which has been conducted to prepare the provisions and protocols submitted by IABA to the Expert Group, which they expressed as being of the highest standard.”
“Despite this endorsement and numerous attempts by members representing the IABA to push for a return to meaningful training and the return of competitive boxing in January 2021. It was made clear that at this present time, given the current government restrictions and the high likelihood of a January 2021 post-Christmas spike, that no amount of provisions or protocols would be sufficient to mitigate the anticipated restriction levels in January.”
“The Chair of the Expert Group, Peter Hogan, gave a strong undertaking that they would fully support the IABA’s efforts to run our Elite Championships as soon as possible in 2021. He also outlined their hope that in January 2021, the Government would be exploring additional amendments to the current restrictions with the intention that it would assist sporting organisations to return to meaningful training and potentially allow for the return of competition at certain levels.”
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