Amateur Boxing Scotland

ABS successfully hosted these two days for its coaches and R&J over the weekend.

The coaches general meeting was held on Saturday 31 July 2010 and was very well received with 35 coaches in attendance.

Willie Burns, director of Coach Education, gave the coaches an update on the status of the United Kingdom Coaching Certificate (UKCC). This will be implemented in October 2010 and ABS will identify and qualify a number of tutors to deliver UKCC courses in Scotland.

A discussion followed on the re-establishment of an ABS Ltd Youth Development Commission and all the coaches in attendance agreed this was a positive move that will move the sport forward.

Andy Caulfield held a brief session on how R&J can effect a coach and a boxer – the purpose of this was to allow the coaches have a say on the current R&J and for Andy to explain how ABS Ltd is creating a pathway for R&J that will improve the level and increase the number of R&J in Scotland.

Pat McCrory, our guest speaker for the weekend, then explained the R&J changes AIBA will be making and how it will now be grading coaches on a one, two and three star basis.

Lunch was served at one o’clock then the afternoon session consisted of a coaching commission discussion which saw the coaches break into teams.

There was then feedback gathered on the group discussions then a brief Q&A session was held.

The coaches all said they enjoyed the day, it was informative and were very appreciative that ABS Ltd gave them the chance to be heard and voice their opinions.

Sunday 01 August  2010

36 referees and Judges were in attendance for the R&J workshop.

The day commenced with a presentation from ABS Ltd’s Andy Caulfield – Andy highlighted ABS Ltd’s plans for advancing R&J in Scotland and how those plans would be delivered. He also went on to explain the structure of the R&J commission and how it would operate in future.

Our guest speaker, Mr Pat McCrory, then spoke on the ongoing development of R&J through AIBA. Pat was keen to enforce a number of messages during his presentation – Referees and Judges should believe in themselves, think they are the best and enjoy refereeing and judging – he had once seen someone crying about a wrong decision!.

Pat also explained the protocol scoring system used by AIBA, explained that cheating in Amateur Boxing was not extinct and offered his services to train ABS Ltd’s computer operators on the AIBA computer system and then split the groups for a practical.

All R&J were then asked to complete a code of conduct document and provide their contact details to allow ABS compile a R&J database. Fourteen of the attendees  also volunteered to be team managers and travel with ABS Ltd teams.

The practical involved groups of R&J watching bouts from the 2009 World Championships in Milan – The object was to identify what our R&J thought a scoring blow was. The score on the screen was covered up and everyone was given clickers. The R&J were then asked to score various bouts and see how closely they were to the actual score.

Lunch was served at 1pm then Pat McCrory then gave a presentation on the AIBA Referees and Judges training manual similar to the one he gave at the 2009 World Championships in Milan.

Following that – the attendees completed the refresher exam and everybody felt they had learned and taken away a lot of new knowledge from the day. The attendees were very appreciative of Pat McCrory too.

ABS would like to thank everyone for attending and look forward to hosting future events.

In November 2004, sportscotland , in partnership with UK Sport and the other three home country sports councils, launched the Equity Standard: A Framework for Sport (the Standard). This is a framework that can be used by governing bodies of sport to help them mainstream equity into their functions, and ensure that people are being treated fairly and given equality of opportunities throughout their sport. It will also help governing bodies to ensure that they are meeting their legal obligations in relation to equity.

The Standard will assist and guide organisations to develop a  meaningful long term plan for equity, and to achieve real organisational success and improvement in achieving equity and promoting diversity.

Organisations work through the four levels of the Standard, and are assessed by trained Equity Standard Advisers at the end of each level. Once an organisation has achieved a level of the Standard, it receives a certificate of accreditation, and is entitled to use the Equity Standard logo on its publication materials and in its communications.

The Standard has been endorsed by a range of key agencies including the Women’s Sports Foundation, Sporting Equals, the English Federation of Disability Sport and the CCPR.

Currently ABS Ltd is working with sportscotland to achieve the Equity Standard Foundation level. Part of this work is to publish a draft strategy on the ABS website to allow members to comment on the draft policy – this can be found via the following link

ABS Draft Equity Policy – Foundation Level

Please send any comments back to ABS Ltd, 5 Nasmyth Court, Houston Industrial Estate, Livingston EH54 5EG

Report by Mike Keane

Venue – Sheffield 19th—22nd July 2010

ABS Ltd has received confirmation from Commonwealth Games Scotland its Selection Panel has confirmed the following coach and boxers selection onto the Achieve 2014 programme:

Sam Ball

Mark McKeown

Danny Lee

Sam, Mark and Danny will travel out to Delhi and get to experience a multi-sport games, the atmosphere, environment, village and competition to provide experience for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.  All costs will be covered through the Achieve 2014 programme.

ABS would like to congratulate all three on their selection.

Youth projects throughout Scotland are invited to apply for funding from a
£2.5 million pot of cash created from the proceeds of crime.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announced that a fourth round of funding
for youth projects from the CashBack for Communities scheme is now open.

The scheme, to be administered by YouthLink Scotland, the national agency
for youth work, has been allocated £2.5 million to distribute over the next
two years to local youth projects in the form of grants up to a maximum of
£30,000.

Jim Sweeney, Chief Executive of YouthLink Scotland, said:
“YouthLink Scotland, as the National Agency for Youth Work, is delighted
that the Scottish Government has agreed to enrich and increase the
availability of youth work activities through CashBack for Communities.  It
will enable hundreds of groups and tens of thousands of young people across
the country to benefit through more and better provision.”

Full Press Release
<http://www.youthlinkscotland.org/webs/245/file/News%20release%20-%20Kenny%20MacAskill%20-%20YouthLink%20Tranent%20-%2014%20July%202010.doc>
Link to Application Form and Other Information Documents
<http://www.youthlinkscotland.org/Index.asp?MainID=11388

ABS is delighted to announce that it will hold a R&J Workshop on 01 August 2010 at the Windlestrae Hotel in Kinross.

A full invite letter and agenda can be found by clicking on the link below. Please note that only ABS R&J can attend this meeting

R&J Workshop details

ABS is delighted to announce that it will hold a Coaching General Meeting on 31 July 2010 at the Windlestrae Hotel in Kinross.

A full invite letter and agenda can be found by clicking on the link below. Please note that only registered ABS Coaches can attend this meeting.

Coaches General Meeting Details

Please find attached the AIBA newsletter, “Inside Boxing”. This will be posted on the Website as soon as ABS Ltd receives it.

Inside_Boxing_June2010

The AIBA Executive Committee met for a three-day Extraordinary EC Meeting from July 9-11 to discuss various matters, including the awarding of hosting rights for the major tournaments related to qualification for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The 2012 AIBA Women’s World Championships will be held in the city of Chongqing in south-west China after the Executive Committee unanimously approved the city’s bid, presented by China Boxing Association President Mr Chang Jianping. The 2012 AIBA Women’s World Championships will be the only qualifying event for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The right to host the European Olympic Qualification Tournament for London 2012 was awarded to the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The new administration of the Turkish Boxing Federation, under the leadership of President Eyup Gozgec, won out over bids from the cities of Dublin and Yerevan.

ABS Ltd hosted an open Question and Answer session at the Caird Hotel in Bathgate on 14 July 2010. The purpose of the session was to allow members the opportunity to ask any questions they had and to promote better communications between the Board and members.

The meeting allowed for a lively, frank and open debate with many questions being asked from the floor during the three hours.

The questions and discussion ranged from;

Issues of communication and what is the best medium;

Technology used to communicate;

The forthcoming United Kingdom Coaching Certificate;

The re-introduction of Home Internationals to the ABS Calendar;

The current Performance/Development programmes and the distribution of funds between the two;

The development and difference between performance and club coaches.

General figures and principles of sportscotland investment and attached conditions;

ABS accounts and insurance figures;

The appoinment of new Directors;

The improvement of Membership Services and production of ABS Handbook for all member clubs (including updating of all constitutional documents);

The planned ABS Ltd Coaching day planned for 31 July 2010 and R&J Workshop planned for 01 August 2010 (further communication coming on this soon).

The Board would like thank all those members who attended and hope they found it as useful as the Board did.

ABS Ltd has received a request from Commonwealth Games Scotland for all Scottish Commonwealth Games sports to submit nominations for the 29th Annual Commonwealth Sports Awards;

29th Annual Commonwealth Sports Awards

Saturday 6 November 2010

Birmingham, England

Dear Colleagues

Please find attached the forms for the 29^th Commonwealth Sports Awards evening in Birmingham on 6 November 2010.

I would urge all of you to look at the categories; your athletes’ achievements over the past year (July 2009 – June 2010) and highlight them to us.

These Awards are for the athletes of the Commonwealth and as such we would like as many as possible to be in the running to become finalists and to be able to attend the Ceremony in November.

To be a finalist, they have to be nominated so please don’t let your athletes down.

Please tell us about their successes and let our judges from the regions of the Commonwealth select the most outstanding ones in the year.

Please nominate – I look forward to receiving your completed forms soon.

With best wishes

Please find information on the above awards, with nomination forms attached.

Please submit your completed forms by 7 August 2010 to Louise.Martin@sportscotland.org.uk

The forms can be downloaded from the downloads section of the website.

London 2012′s official ‘Games Maker’ Volunteer Programme will launch this summer.

Volunteering at the London 2012 Games will be a truly memorable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for members of the amateur boxing community.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) will recruit volunteers from across the UK – from a range of communities and backgrounds. The selection process will be transparent, open and fair. Volunteers will be known as ‘Games Makers’ due to their hugely important role in staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Should you be selected as a Games Maker, you will be vitally important to the Games, representing the UK and delivering services that are essential for a successful and inspirational event. You will have the opportunity to use and develop your skills and play a key role in one of the largest and most unforgettable events ever to be held in the UK.

Specialist boxing volunteer roles

Volunteer opportunities available for boxing will include:

Administration Team Member – Supporting the Boxing Competition management and man the venue office.

Athlete Svcs Team Member – Staffing the back of house athlete areas and ensuring athletes are well supported (changing/warm-up/call areas).

Field of Play Team Leader - Responsibility for the supervision of the Field of Play Team Members

Field of Play Team Member - Ensuring only accredited people are admitted to the Field of Play. Ensuring athletes exit via mixed zone. Maintaining ring between rounds/bouts

IF Services Team Member – Supporting members of the International Federation (AIBA) with administrative tasks and ensuring their areas are kept clean and well stocked.

Tech Officials Team Member – Supporting Referees and Judges and officials and ensuring their areas are kept clean and well stocked.

There will also be other volunteer opportunities, in areas such as Event Services, Olympic and Paralympic Village operations and uniform distribution.

Who can volunteer?

LOCOG aims to recruit volunteers who will bring passion, enthusiasm and energy to the Games. In addition, volunteers must:

Be 18 years old or over by 1 January 2012;

Be available to volunteer for a minimum of 10 days at either, or both, of the Games;

Be eligible to volunteer in the UK according to UK immigration laws;

Be providing specialist sports-specific skills at the Games or have extensive previous Games experience and be able to meet the requirements for a sports visitor visa;

Be able to attend a minimum of three training sessions prior to the Games and agree to, and pass, certain security and background checks.

Applicants for specialist sport volunteer roles must additionally be available for the Test Event in their chosen sport.

Applicants under 18 years old require specific arrangements to volunteer, and as a result a special Young Games Maker programme will be launched in 2011.

Why volunteer?

The main benefit of volunteering is the chance to play an integral role in one of the most exciting events ever seen in the UK. The Games will provide a unique and inspirational setting for volunteers to gain experience and develop their skills.

Note that:

London 2012 will provide volunteers with free meals during their shifts.

Each volunteer will be given an official uniform to wear and will have the opportunity to keep their uniform as a souvenir of their experience and contribution to the Games.

Volunteer travel arrangements are still being planned.

Details of these will follow shortly.

Accommodation will not be provided.

Key dates during the volunteer recruitment process

September 15th 2010 – London 2012′s official Volunteer Programme will launch. All applicants will be required to complete an application form.

November 2010 – LOCOG will start inviting short-listed applicants to a selection event.

January 2011-February 2012 – Selection events will take place where all invited applicants will be interviewed.

October 2011 – LOCOG will start sending out offers to successful applicants.

February 2012 – Orientation training will begin.

March 2012 – Role-specific training will begin.

April 2012 – Distribution of uniforms and accreditation passes will begin.

What you need to do now

Nothing! The application process will open in September 2010. Early application is recommended as it will not remain open indefinitely.

Update on the latest results from Jimmy Dunn – Team Manager – in Cardiff;

Class A Results – Michael McGurk won 10-3, Steven McCall won 11-1, Kevin Skey won 22-13, Hugh Gray won 11-3, Robert Forrest won 6-4 which was an outstanding first session.

Ryan Collins and Aqeel Ahmed contest straight finals tomorrow – 10.07.2010.

Class B winners tonight 09.07.2010;

Scott Allan beat Ryan Llewellyn (Wales) 14-4 and Connor Law beat Thomas Evans (Wales) 6-1. More results will be posted as they happen.

Latest update from Jimmy Dunn;

Hugh Gray won Gold versus Mikey McDonnell England RSCI 2nd round.

ABS Ltd has received notification from Norman Watt that he has decided to tender his resignation from the post of ABS Ltd Workforce Director.

ABS Ltd would like to thank Norman for his contribution to the Board and wish him all the best for the future.

Report by Mark Geraghty,  ABS Ltd Women’s coach.

The first ever ABS Ltd Women’s assessment day was held in the Aberdeen University Sport Village facility.

There were eleven women in attendance and comprised of 6 Women from the Eastern District, four from the Northern District and one from the Western District

Coaches in attendance were Tony Kerr, Vernon from the University of Aberdeen university and Mark Geraghty.

Themes covered on the assessment day included technique, strength and conditioning and fitness.

All the Women had their weights taken and then the day finished up with some light sparring and padwork.

The overall standard in general was OK to good and I was very pleased with the turn out considering the time of year and the location.

Mark Geraghty

The following boxers have been selected for the GB Youth Championships that will take place in Cardiff on 8-11 July 2010;

Coaches are Sam Mullen, Alex Docherty, Alex Mullen, Peter Harrison.

Training for the above listed boxers will be;

Sun 27th June 11:30am – 2:pm

Tues 29th June 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Sun 4th July 11:30am – 2:00pm

Tues 6th July 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Attendance at Sunday training session is compulsory for named boxers.

Peter Harrison

ABS Development Coach.

ABS Ltd will host an open question and answer session on the evening of 14 July 2010.

The purpose of the session is to give members  the opportunity to ask any questions they may have and promote better communications between the Board and members. It will also allow the Board to ask members what they expect from it.

Club secretaries may send questions in advance of the the meeting to ABS Ltd, 5 Nasmyth Court, Houston Industrial Estate, Livingston, EH54 5EG. The reason for asking for upfront questions is to divide the various questions into themes. This will allow the session to focus on current matters that are critical to the ongoimg development of ABS Ltd.

The time of the meeting is 7.00pm to 9.oo pm and the venue is The Cairn Hotel, Blackburn Road, Bathgate, EH48 2EL

The aim of ABS’s one day tutor course, which was held at the Whiteinch Centre in Glasgow, was to qualify participants to deliver and organise the G.B. national boxing awards in schools, colleges, sports centres, youth clubs, universities, and to boxing clubs.

This course the first of its kind in Scotland was well attended with nineteen participants qualifying to deliver this type of non-contact boxing coaching. The course was presented by  Quinton Shillingford,  the Managing Director of Boxing Awards Ltd.

The outline of the course was:

The benefit from physical exercise

- The warm up

- The boxing stance

- Healthy lifestyle

- Fun while training

- History of boxing

- Pad work

- Healthy diet.

The group who did this course, all came from different backgrounds and included teachers, youth workers, development workers, and of course boxing coaches.

Everyone in attendance thoroughly enjoyed the course and the way in which it was presented. If there is enough demand ABS would like to repeat this sometime in the very near future. Anyone interested should contact Willie Burns who will advise when ABS is likely to repeat this coaching programme.

Scottish team report by Team Manager Abby Hills.

The Scottish Team arrived at the Etap Hotel in Sheffield at 6pm on 10 June 2010. The boys all passed the medical and weigh in on Friday morning and the draw was done at 11am. We were unlucky enough to draw the best boxers of the tournament and the results are as follows;

SEMI-FINALS   1995 BOXERS

Scottish Results only

Paul Morrison Scotland lost to Clark Titterton – England 22-7 pts

Darren Brown Scotland lost to James Foster - England 9-2 pts

Sam Ball Scotland beat Michael Dunphy – England 18-8 pts

Ryan Downer Scotland lost to Leon Field - England 6-2 pts

William Mowatt Scotland lost to Michael Moloney – England 26-11 pts

Alan Laing Scotland lost to Isaac McLeod – England rsc 3^rd round

Josh Mitchell Scotland lost to Simon Baker – England rsc 2^nd round

SEMI-FINALS 1994 BOXERS

Bradlee Stuart Scotland lost to Tom Hooper – England 14-3 pts

Declan McCusker Scotland lost to Marc Leach – England rsc 2 counts in round 2

Lee Murray Scotland lost to Thomas Ward – England retired in round 2 (hand injury)

Ryan Love lost to Joshua Kelly England

Robbie McKechnie Scotland beat Scott McNess pts

Mark McKeown Scotland beat Macauley McGowan England

James Dickie Scotland  lost to Steve Patterson England

William Dougan Scotland lost to Kyle Shaughnessy England

Grant Quigley Scotland lost to Steed Woodall England

Scott Forest  Scotland  lost to Simon O’Driscoll England

Finals

Sam Ball beat Ricky Rowlands – Wales 31-22 pts to win gold

Robbie McKechnie beat Jake Slater – England 20-13 pts to win gold

Mark McKeown beat Sam Bezzina – England 34-23 pts to win  gold

Every boxer gave 100 percent in every bout. The Coaches Peter Harrison, Danny Lee, Alec Docherty and Rab Bannen all worked very hard to help each of the boxers achieve their peak.

Referees George Brown, Derek Cannon and judge Paul Susans were in the higher range of the officials at the championships and this bodes well for future success of A.B.S Ltd Officials at home and abroad.

Point scores for the 1994 boxers will be updated shortly.

All three Scottish boxers suffered preliminary round defeats in the 2010 European Championships in Moscow Russia.

Joe Ham boxed against Matti Koota of Finland and lost 9 -2 (round 1 3-0, round 2 4-1 and round 3 2-1). The coaches commented that Joe had put in a good effort against the Finn however.

Aston Brown boxed against Egidijus Kavaliauskas of Lithuania – A World class opponent. Aston lost the bout narrowly 4-3  (round 1 1-2, round 2 2-1 and round three 1-0). Aston boxed very well and looked composed throughout the fight.

Stephen Simmons representing Scotland in the tournament but travelling with the GB competed in the 81kg weight category. His opponent was Ioannis Militopoulos of Greece – The first round was very close with the judges scoring it 3-3.  However Militopoulos scored well in the second and third rounds to end up a comfortable winner 9-4.