ULSTER Boxing Council president Kevin Duffy hopes clubs will be able to open their doors before the summer – although any return to competition may still have to wait until the traditional season start in September.
The Stormont executive unveiled its five-step plan for easing the Covid-19 lockdown last week, with “leisure centres and all indoor sports facilities” scheduled to reopen under the level three ‘gradual easing’ stage.
That would appear to pave the way for a possible reopening of boxing clubs in May, subject to executive reviews in the meantime and dependent on the ever-evolving public health situation.
Duffy, who is a coach at the St Joseph’s club in Derry, is cautiously optimistic following last week’s announcement and believes getting boxers and coaches back to some form of collective training would be “a major first step”.
“Obviously this whole thing is very unpredictable but what we hope for is that, if it continues on the line that it’s going and looking at the document, that clubs would reopen again at some stage prior to the summer,” he said.
“I would anticipate it could be similar to what we had before in terms of some restrictions in place, and we’ll take guidance on that. The likelihood may be that competition may not resume again until September.
“But the main aim now, and I think it would give everybody a real boost, is to get people back into clubs again. That would be a massive positive and a huge first step, important for young people and important for communities.
“I have great appreciation for everybody involved, it’s been a long slog for everybody, for lots of different reasons – this has affected a lot of people’s lives in a whole lot of ways. For our sport there’s no doubt it has had a massive impact.
“But people have been very responsible, people in boxing realise this was necessary for the health of everybody and they’ve played their part. The signs and the messages coming out are a lot more hopeful.”
Last week former Armagh player Oisin McConville called for GAA to resume in the north if permitted by the Stormont executive allows, even if the sport remains shut down in rest of Ireland.
Boxing has taken the same all-island approach as the GAA since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and Duffy says that, if there is a return to clubs in the north, “no part of the country should have an advantage over any other”.
“The way we work is very similar to the GAA - we did agree as an all-island body that we would move together. That has happened so far, but what we don’t want is for all clubs to be sitting closed if there’s a possibility for some to open.
“It’s when they get back to competition that is really important in this context, so that nobody is gaining an advantage. The best-case scenario is that everyone gets back into the clubs at the one time… I don’t think there will be much difference when that happens.
“No part of the country should have an advantage over any other in terms of the opportunity to prepare and get ready. If restrictions are eased quicker in the north, we’ll link in through our central council, our expert group and board of directors to see where we are.”
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CLUBS WILL NEED MORE FUNDING TO GET BACK ON THEIR FEET: DUFFY
AMATEUR clubs will need more government funding to get back on their feet once boxing returns, according to Ulster Council president Kevin Duffy.
Like all sports, boxing has taken a considerable hit since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, with some clubs fighting for their lives while others consider possible amalgamations in a bid to secure their future.
With clubs hoping to be able to open their doors once more before the summer, Duffy hopes great funding opportunities will be forthcoming in the months ahead as “recognition of the wider impact this has had on sport”.
“A lot of clubs have different challenges,” he said.
“Some clubs have been able to avail of some of the hardship grants, but there needs to be more of a recognition of the wider impact this has had on sport.
“We don’t want to lose any clubs but, to ensure that doesn’t happen, the reality is we would need a further financial injection to help some of those clubs get back to where they were. Lots of the clubs who pay rent had to continue paying rent, even though there was no income coming in. That is a big worry for them.
“There have been at least three approaches coming from people looking to start new clubs as well, so that’s a positive. Boxing is at the heart of so many communities, this goes much wider than us talking about getting back to competition.
“We know there’s a focus on the health and wellbeing of society as a whole and boxing, like all sports, has a role to play in that. That should be recognised in terms of funding opportunities going forward.”
After almost a year without competition, there have been fears about what impact the pandemic could have on the sport. Duffy acknowledges there could be a knock-on effect, but doesn’t believe boxing will “lose a generation”.
“We are looking at ways to maybe facilitate a lost year, whether that’s a plus one or opening up different championships for people who would be moving out of different age groups… there will hopefully be a wee bit of creative thinking there.
“It will be difficult to get an overview of the impact until we’re back and we know who’s coming through the doors. I hope we don’t lose too many of the boxers who have been around but the reality is that may happen.
“As for the longer term impact, I don’t necessarily agree that we’ll lose a generation of boxers. I really don’t think that will be the case.
“We have good structures in place and development opportunities there, so I’m optimistic that boxing will come back as strong as ever.”
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ULSTER ELITES PLANNED BEFORE CHRISTMAS TO AID COMMONWEALTHS SELECTION
THE aim is to hold the Ulster Elite Championships before Christmas, so they can form part of the selection process for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Ulster Boxing Council representatives and John Conlan, Ulster High Performance head coach, recently met with the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games committee to discuss a plan ahead of the Games, which are scheduled to run from July 28-August 8 2022.
“John has asked us, if possible, that we will have our selection process in place,” said Ulster Boxing president Kevin Duffy.
“He has his own thoughts on that which will be put to the Ulster Council, and that will include the Ulster Elite Championships which he has asked us to consider hosting before Christmas. We would hope we could facilitate that.
“It is our showcase event so we would hope to have that as part of the selection process and have our top athletes involved.”
