The boxers, who were chosen last week by the GABA Selection Committee are Theresa London, 15, daughter of former world heavyweight champion Pamela London and Caralan Best. London, who fights out of the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) gym, is a featherweight while Best, 15, is a junior flyweight.
This information was disclosed by President of GABA Steve Ninvalle yesterday at the Water Chris Hotel. He also revealed that the world governing body for amateur boxing, International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), will be standing the entire cost for participants of the programme.
According to Ninvalle, the international body required that the participants of the programme be born between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 1996 for the youth and junior championships.
Ninvalle indicated that this initiative has come at a critical time, especially since the association is working on lifting the level of the sport in the country.
He pointed also out that this undertaking can be used as a catalyst to also attract more females to the sport, particularly since there is a negative perception attached to the sport.
“This is a good thing for boxing locally, especially as it relates to female boxing, and we hope this will open the door for other females to see that they can go some place…we are looking to see how best we could have more females attracted to the sport, get more females involved in the sport. We hope that this (programme in Turkey) could be used as a catalyst to draw more females into the sport of boxing.
“We got about five or six females fighting competitively in amateur boxing and when I met with [Ching-Kuo] Dr. Wu in India last year he had promised that there are a number of female tournaments and had promised that Guyana will be involved in them during the course of this year,” Ninvalle explained.
Ninvalle also emphasised that the association is looking to integrate boxing in the schools “as a non-contact sport” but it is somewhat difficult because many parents have a problem with their daughters being involved in the sport.
However, he reminded that amateur boxing is safer than professional boxing since there is more protection for the fighters.
Therefore, Ninvalle posited that the GABA should “embark on a conscious and aggressive campaign…because the first thing you have to change is the mindset of the people as it relates to the sport.”
He added that this is not a barbaric sport, declaring that this perception has prevented sponsors from coming on board.
Meanwhile, Ninvalle disclosed that the selection panel of the GABA will be putting together a team of amateur boxers to prepare for the 2012 Olympics, which will be held in London, England. This is expected to be done after the contingent returns from Turkey.
Further, the local body has already sent out invitations to countries for the Caribbean championships and within the next two weeks the association will consider its next step.
Additionally, there will be an intense year, especially as it relates to international competitions.
There will be the World Junior Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, from July 22-31.
The Commonwealth Youth Games will be held in the Isle of Mann from September 7-13 and the Pan American Games will be held from October 13-30 in Mexico and these championships are also on the radar of the GABA.
