Friday, March 29, 2024

Boxing boss replaced

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Joyce Bowen, former president of the Amateur Boxing Association of Barbados (ABAB), has pledged her continued support to the association and the newly-elected president. 
International referee/judge Anthony Jones replaced Bowen at the annual general meeting held last Sunday at the National Sports Council, My Lords Hill.
“Mr Jones is a very hard-working person. He has given a lot of years and time to the Amateur Boxing Association of Barbados and I wish him well. I pledge to give him my support at any given time in any way possible and to help the continued growth of the sport,” Bowen told NATIONSPORT.
Bowen, who held the position for five years, said the members had spoken and she didn’t have any problems with the executive that had been selected.“I would say it went reasonably well. I did the best I could for the period I was in there for the sport of amateur boxing. I promised to get a ring for them; I achieved that. I wanted to bring the World Championships here; I achieved that,” she said.
“I have achieved everything I possibly could have achieved during that five-year period. Yes, I had a lot of plans for the future, but after a while people probably thought that I was there too long and my progress on the international scene made it a bit difficult.
“People thought that I was paying more attention to the international side of it than the local side, which was not at all the case. I was always here when I was needed and every time I left Barbados, I left Barbados representing my association and my country and trying to get my boxers into any and every programme that could help with their development.” 
Bowen was also instrumental in getting Damian Sealy into the World Series of Boxing and she had plans to get several boxers into the Boxing Academy. That was  to have been located in Canada and opened last September, but has since been relocated to Kazakhstan, which has caused the delay.
“Regardless of how it goes, I am still on the international body and I will still be fighting for the cause of the local amateur boxing association.” Bowen said.
Bowen will forever be included in the history of amateur boxing as chairman of the Women’s Commission which gained the women’s version Olympic status. She was also president when Barbados became the first developing nation to host the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships last September.
When asked why he decided to run, Jones said: “I?believe that the [former] president had a go and she didn’t do what the association expected her to do. I thought that I might be able to do a little better.”
Focus on local activities
A press release stated the executive would focus on local activities to generate more interest into the sport and provide opportunities for the more experienced boxers to get much-needed local and regional competition.
Efforts will also be made to showcase the boxers through more cards; increase the membership by recruiting new boxers and setting up more gyms across the island; the training of new officials and providing a “suitable and practical home for the sport”.
“Those are goals that the asociation [was] supposed to have planned over the last years, but we have made no progress whatsoever in those areas.”
Jones, the former treasurer, now heads the committee which will serve until 2013.
The other members are Trevor Rowe (first vice-president); Delbert Nurse (second vice-president); secretary Kathy-Hall and treasurer Keith Stuart. The other committee members are Oliver Marshall, former secretary Rowena Walcott, Aubrey Blackett, Lawrence Hunte and Merlin Ward. 
The gym representatives are Gary Bowen, Frederick Fields and Michael Pitman.
A meeting with representatives of the local boxing gyms will be held on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the National Sports Council. 

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