Newsletter EUBC by President Franco Falcinelli – August/September 2019

Dear boxing friends,

Another important month for our Confederation has ended. It was a very intense period of International Tournaments and large continental competitions. Three European Championships took place which confirmed the vitality and growth of European Olympic boxing.

EUBC Schoolboys & Schoolgirls European Boxing Championships Tbilisi 2019:

I am very proud that Europe was the first Confederation to organize the Continental Championships for boxers aged 13 and 14. I sincerely hope that the Schoolboys & Schoolgirls Championships will always have a greater turnout and will be decisive for the launch of the future stars of the ring.

David Tsiklauri – President of National Boxing Federation of Georgia

From 2 to 12 August the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, hosted the Schoolboys & Schoolgirls European Championships. It was an event attended by 30 countries and 316 young athletes: 238 boys and 78 girls.

The Georgian Boxing Federation, led by David Tsiklauri, has put a great deal of effort into guaranteeing an excellent organizational level and, I must say, that the feedback from the National Federations was really excellent.

EUBC Women’s European Boxing Championships Madrid 2019:

From August 24^thto September 1^stwe witnessed the most important event of women’s boxing on the European scene.

Spain hosted the event in Alcobendas, a large municipality of Madrid. At the 12^thedition of the Women’s Elite European Championships, 136 athletes from 31 countries took part.

Felipe Martinez – President of Spanish Boxing Federation and Franco Falcinelli – EUBC President

Thanks also to the experience of the previous organization of the “European Union Championships” organized in Valladolid, the Spanish Federation, led by Felipe Martinez, gave birth to an excellent event both from a technical and organizational point of view.

During the Championships the first meeting of the EUBC Coach Commission, chaired by Felipe Martinez, was also held, dealing with many topics useful for the development of the coach movement in Europe:

• close cooperation with the R&J Commission in order to clarify in greater detail each scoring criteria as well as define the conditions for all possible scoring in a round;
• active participation to the creation of the EUBC Calendar;
• clarity on an significant step of head guard removal for female boxers, together with the EUBC Medical Commission;
• key criteria for AIBA Certification of Coaches

EUBC Youth Men’s & Women’s European Boxing Championships Sofia 2019:

The last European Championships took place took part from 2 to 11 September in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

Krasimir Ininski – President of Bulgarian Boxing Association

In the 29th European Youth Championships, participated  339 athletes including 213 men and 126 women from 37 countries. President Krasimir Ininski, once again, confirmed the strong motivation of the Bulgarian Boxing Federation for the development of boxing in Bulgaria.

As part of the Championship, on 7 September, the Sofia Sport Hall hosted the meeting of the EUBC Competition Commission, chaired by Sumaid Khalidov. Also on this occasion, the Members of the Commission dealt with important issues, such as:

• definition of the EUBC 2020 – 2024 Championships Calendar,
• revision of the Schoolboys categories
• regulation measures of the registration processes for the Championships.

I would like to express special thanks to all the National Federations and Local Organizing Committees that this year hosted and organized the EUBC European Championships.

Your commitment and your dedication are priceless, because you have made available to delegations your best organizational skills and your passion for our sport. Thanks also on behalf of all the fans.

AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships Ekaterinburg 2019:

Right now in Ekaterinburg (Russia) the Elite Men’s World Championships are taking place. Although, as you know, this event is not a qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, I would like to underline the great participation of the European Federations. Out of the total of 78 participating countries, as many as 36 are European with 169 athletes out of a total of 365. Europe represents almost half of the participants, It is a very important fact that highlights the great commitment of our National Federations and the importance of the tradition of the Olympic movement on our continent. A great Good Luck to all athletes in Ekaterinburg!

AIBA Extraordinary Executive Committee in Istanbul:

In addition to the intense sporting activity, the month of August was also marked by the Extraordinary Meeting of the AIBA Executive Committee, which was held in Istanbul on 31 August. Despite the difficult time that our International Organization is experiencing, we are actively trying to restore our sport’s credibility and reliability. The mistakes in the past have not been few, but the collective conscience and the responsibility of the AIBA Executive Committee towards boxing are bringing important innovations that I hope will be able to reconfirm the AIBA in the IOC. Among the most important decisions taken during the meeting in Istanbul, I would like to underline the choice to set the Extraordinary AIBA Congress for 13 and 14 December 2019. It will not be an elective Congress, but it is a necessary event for the amendments of the AIBA Statutes, much requested and highlighted by the IOC.

Below you will find some points from my speech done in Istanbul:

• “The internal division is a sign of obvious weakness that prevents us from fulfilling our objectives. In such a delicate moment for the future of AIBA, the reputation and credibility within and outside our organization”.
• “We must avoid to lead AIBA in an oligarchic form without taking into account the opinion and the voice of the boxing largest stakeholder, National Federations, who must legitimize the great choices. Transparency must be a key element of our future governance”.
• “Today, the most urgent tasks are the restructuring of the financial debt and to find liquidity to survive; AIBA needs financial resources to organize the main competitions and the next two Extraordinary Congresses”.
• In the new AIBA Statute the election of Confederations’ President must be independent from the election to the AIBA Vice Presidency.
• “Today is a time to appeal to friends who, with a great gesture of solidarity and without personal benefits, have expressed an intention to save AIBA from bankruptcy”.
• “Mr. Umar Kremlev must confirm his extraordinary financial commitment and how and when he intends to transfer resources from the “Global Boxing Foundation” to AIBA”
• “I also want to make an appeal to the Task Force that deals with relations with the IOC. I ask to have strength and determination to follow the requests of the IOC, without renouncing to the independence and autonomy of our International Federation, which is granted by the Rule 25 of the Olympic Charter. It would be ideal reinstate AIBA within the Olympic Movement as soon as a new governance and the solution of financial problems will take place and this can happen before Tokyo 2020”

Women’s Training Camp in Assisi before the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships Ulan-Ude 2019:

For the whole month of September in Assisi, at the National Boxing Center, a training camp of the women’s teams is taking place in view of the upcoming World Women’s Championships. The training camp has been  organized by the Italian Boxing Federation and sees the participation of teams such as India, China, Korea, France, Finland, Greece and Italy. As EUBC President and former Coach, I believe these initiatives are the soul of our sport, as in addition to improving the level of athletes they create important human bridges between countries and continents.