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(October 1, 2001) Scranton,
Pa. to Host COLORADO
SPRINGS, COLO. (October 1, 2001) - The first Women's Amateur World Boxing
Championships will be held in Scranton, Pa., November 26 - December 2.
Over 30 countries are expected to send a national team to compete in
the event, including powerhouses like the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Finland and
Russia. Sweden was the first country to have an organized amateur women's program, Finland has hosted an international women's tournament for the past several years and Russia made its international debut last November by beating the U.S., then emerged as the top team in April's European Continental Championships in France. The
World Championships will mark the third significant women's boxing event to be
held in Scranton. The first-ever
U.S. women's international competition was an outdoor event between the U.S.
and Canada in 1998 at Lackawanna County Stadium.
The 1999 U.S. Women's National Championships followed that event and
attracted over 100 competitors. Scranton also hosted the 2000 Men's Eastern
Trials, a qualifying stage for the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. "This
is a big step for the evolution of women's boxing," said Sandy Martinez-Pino,
vice-president of USA Boxing and the Chair of Women's Boxing for the Amateur
International Boxing Association (AIBA).
"The six days of competition in Scranton will be the ultimate
display in the ring that will showcase women's abilities, training and desire
to succeed. There is no doubt
that this event will catapult female boxing into uncharted but eagerly
anticipated territory." The
holding of a world championship is a big step in the quest to make women's
boxing a part of the Olympic program, along with a structured environment of
international talent identification, international championships, continental
qualification tournaments and a significant number of countries with advanced
female boxing programs. Women's
amateur boxing has enjoyed steady growth throughout the world. All the continents are represented in the over 90 countries
with women's boxing programs. In
particular, USA Boxing has seen tremendous growth in the sport since it began
in 1993. There are now over 2,000
women registered with the organization. USA
Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United
States' member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA).
As national governing body, USA Boxing is responsible for the
administration, development and promotion of Olympic-style boxing in the
United States. Headquartered at
the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA Boxing sponsors a
host of programs - from developing the sport and its athletes at the local,
regional and national levels, to sponsoring national and international dual
competitions and selecting teams for international events, including the
Olympic Games, World Championships and Pan American Games. [Source: Bill Kellick, Director of Media and Public Relations, USA
Boxing, (719) 866-2303 bkellick@usaboxing.org,
website: www.usaboxing.org]
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