By Marlon Munroe
The Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) six-month pilot programme for schoolboys and junior boxers begins on Sunday at the Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis Gym in Albouystown from 08:00 hours.

One of the coordinators of the programme, Sebert Blake told Stabroek Sport yesterday that the programme’s aim is twofold as the nursery for boxers in the 8-14 and 15-16 age groups who will further develop their skills with monthly tournaments under the watchful eyes of national boxing coach Wincel Thomas, the other coordinator of the programme, and also prepare for junior international boxing meets next year.

The programme, which will be held to honour Guyana’s only world champion at the moment, is opened to all boxing gyms since the local governing body wants to have a larger pool of boxers to choose from when the time comes next year for selection and most importantly there will be an element of objectivity. Blake, a former amateur boxer, believes that boxers today  need to be more active so as to ensure that they are in a better condition to  deal with competition overseas.

He also recalled  his days in the amateur ranks, noting that there were many tournaments for boxers to hone their skills and this is part of the mandate of the GABA, and by extension, the reason for holding this training programme.

When Stabroek Sport spoke to GABA president Steve Ninvalle he stated that it is the position of the association to have a structured nursery for local Simon Pures. He believes that if the nursery is weak it would therefore extend to the more senior ranks and then ultimately it would reflect in the quality of professional fighters.

He too underscored the importance of the fighters being  more active, supporting a view expressed by  national coach Thomas who had said that the country’s amateur boxers lacked the fundamentals of the fistic sport.

Referring to the pilot programme, Ninvalle said that the GABA does not expect that all aspects of the programme would be delivered correctly at the first outing but the programme will be fine-tuned as it progresses.

He explained that he wants the programme to become a calendar event of the GABA and hopes that it will be unmatched while at the same time it must be worthy of emulation.

GABA intends that by the end of the year the programme would have undergone the relevant trials and errors so that next year the association would have a better blueprint to work from. Meanwhile, winners of the tournament will receive medals and there is expected to be about 20 bouts on the card. Blake said, however, that the number of bouts will depend on the number of boxers who  participate. He also said that this programme can enhance the competitive spirit among the clubs around the country.

Thomas also mentioned that he was looking forward to working with the young boxers and this programme will give him an opportunity to see whether his training programme he had conducted when he first was elected to his current position had yielded any success with the under-16 boxers.

That programme was aimed at improving their techniques, especially since he had observed that many of the boxers were focusing on the uppercut, which is a short range shot and the other fundamentals were lacking.