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2008 National Senior Championships
By Bernard O'Neill
(NOV 21) The 2008 National Senior Championships will begin on Tuesday
January 8th and run over four days before concluding on Friday January 11th
at the National Stadium in Dublin.
The change in format for the Championships is to facilitate the Irish senior
squads participation in the two final Olympic qualifiers for European boxers
in February/March and April next year.
These qualifiers will take place from the 24th of February to the 2nd of
March in Pescara, Italy, and from the 7th to the 14th of April in Athens,
Greece.
A minimum of four and a maximum of six Olympic qualification places will be
up for grabs in all weight categories for Europeans at these tournaments,
meaning that a number of Irish boxers will have to reach the finals in their
respective divisions to book their tickets for next years Olympics.
A semi final finish may suffice in the weight categories that have six
Olympics berths remaining. However, a last four
finish in Pescara and Athens could mean that beaten semi finalists will have
to box-off for a place in the Olympics.
While the changes in format for the National Senior Championships are
designed to facilitate the Irish senior squad in their preparations for
Pescara and Athens, one Irish boxer, light flyweight Paddy Barnes, who has
already qualified for the 2008 Olympics, said that his immediate ambition is
to successfully defend his Irish 48Kg title at headquarters in January.
Twenty one year old Barnes, from the Holy Family club in Belfast, booked his
ticket for the Beijing 2008 Games by virtue of reaching the quarter finals
at the recent AIBA World Championships and Olympic qualifiers at the
University of Illinois in Athens.
The reigning Irish and Ulster senior champion, who has Gerry Storey in his
corner at national level, admitted that it has not fully sunk in yet that he
is an Irish Olympian.
He said: "My first priority is to successfully defend my Irish title in
January and I think it is a great idea to run the Senior Championships over
four days as that is the way international competitions are run.
"Because I qualified for the Olympics everyone will be trying to beat me at
the nationals but I will be prepared for that and I am confident that I will
do well in Dublin."
"It hasn't really fully sunk in yet that I will be boxing at the Olympics
next year. It is a dream come true really and hopefully we can get a few
more boxers qualified in Italy and Greece."
Meanwhile, the nine Olympic qualifying events which will complete the
qualifying process for the 2008 Olympic Games have been confirmed. Following
the completion of the AIBA World Boxing Championships Chicago 2007, which
featured as the opening qualifying event for Beijing earlier this month,
athletes from each continent will have two more chances - except for Oceania
where its Continental Championships will double as an Olympic qualifying
event.
A total of 284 of the 286 places available for Beijing are distributed
through the qualifying events:a) The AIBA World Boxing Championships (80
places) b) Olympic Qualifying Tournaments: • Two dedicated events to be
organized in each of the following continents; America, Africa, Asia and
Europe. • The continental championships of Oceania.
co) Within this quota, a maximum of six (6) places will be guaranteed to the
host nation. The remaining two places will be allocated to the Tripartite
Commission
January
22-31 AIBA Africa Olympic Qualifying Event - Algiers, Algeria
24/1-3/2 AIBA Asia Olympic Qualifying Tournament - Bangkok, Thailand
February
19-26 AIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament - Port of Spain, Trinidad
and Tobago
24/2/3 AIBA Europe Olympic Qualifying Tournament - Pescara, Italy
March
15-25 AIBA Asia Olympic Qualifying Tournament - Asana, Kazakhstan
22-31 AIBA Africa Olympic Qualifying Tournament - Windhoek, Namibia
April
7-14 AIBA Europe Olympic Qualifying Tournament - Athens, Greece
23-30 AIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament - Guatemala City,
Guatemala
TIC Oceania Continental Championships - Canberra, Australia
August 2008
8-24 Olympic Games - Beijing, China
The AIBA "Good Luck Beijing" tournament is presently underway at the Beijing
Workers Arena in Beijing and will conclude on November 23rd. |
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