IBA’s development program for Oceania has started with a series of Educational Courses for the Oceania National Federations personnel. This includes IBA 1-Star R&J and ITO Courses that brought together more than 25 participants from Oceania region within OCBC Junior and Youth Boxing Championships in the capital city of Samoa – Apia. The city welcomed national R&Js and National Technical Officials (NTOs) from Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Samoa, French Polynesia, and China.

One of the lead R&J Instructors, Mr David Cutting, with the assistance of the IBA R&J Committee Chair, Mr Wayne Rose, successfully led theoretical modules completed by written examination and followed by practical assessments of national R&Js during the first championships that OCBC have organized in the region since the pandemic.

“The competition was held in Apia on the Pacific Island of Samoa, a country with a strong sporting history, and home and final resting place for famed Scottish writer, Robert Louis Stevenson. 59 contests were held within the sporting complex of Apia. The venue was an ideal arena for watching boxing and the crowd were very vocal and supportive of all competitors. During the competition, IBA 1-Star R&J upgrades were conducted with nine R&Js from six countries attending and undergoing assessment for upgrade. With limited neutrality, the R&J worked extremely hard to ensure the best support for the competing boxers”, – Mr Wayne Rose, the IBA R&J Committee Chair, commented on the recently concluded tournament.

The first ever ITO Course for OCBC in English and French has been concluded under supervision of one of the IBA lead ITO instructors, Mr John Waith. The newly updated program for ITO Courses now lasts 4 days and requires deeper involvement of participants into practical exercises at the venue around the Field of Play (FOP) as well as extensive practice as an NTO at a national level. Ten programs also imply wide theoretical baсkground including knowledge of all the recent changes incorporated into the IBA Technical and Competitions Rules.

“The ITO Course coincided with the Oceania Youth and Junior Championships which was a big help as it provided the opportunity for the candidates to experience at first hand the work of an ITO at an international level. The course started with a full day of presentations where all the up to date Technical and Competition rules were discussed. As the tournament progressed the candidates were able to shadow the work of the R&J Coordinator, Equipment Manager and Timekeeper as well as having a Q&A session with the Ringside Doctor, Evaluators, Observer, Technical Delegate and Draw Commissioner. All candidates were very keen to learn. The tournament itself was very successful and well organised with correct results and some very talented boxers coming through for the future”, – Mr John Waith, the ITO Instructor and Deputy Technical Delegate, added.

IBA expresses its gratitude to all Oceania personnel for valuable assistance that was provided during the implementation of the first development module for OCBC. Any questions or queries pertinent to educational courses, should be sent directly to the IBA Development Department via development@iba.sport in the first instance.

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