Amateur Boxing Scotland

This document can now be downloaded from the documents section of the website.

Sunday 29 August 2010

This was a very well attended meeting with 46 people in attendance – almost double the turnout from last years AGM.

Clubs in attendance were as follows; Garnock Valley, Lochaber Phoenix, Zetland, St Francis, Livingston, Kinross, Cardenden, Springhill, Aberdeen, Robert Gordons University, Hill Park, Barn, Wellmeadow, Sparta, Stirling, Lochee Boys Club, Bellahouston, Duries, Glenrothes, Port Victoria, Four Isles, Leith Victoria, Kincorth, Forgewood, Alloa, Kelty, Dundee, Denbeath, Irvine Vineburgh, Bathgate, Fauldhouse, Craigmillar and Newarthill.

The mood of the meeting was generally positive and supportive.  The meeting was well chaired and the motions put up by the board to the members were all approved without having to go to a vote. Previous AGM and SGM minutes and accounts were approved. Due to incorrect entries in nominal ledgers and budget headings the accounts were changed and signed off two days prior to the AGM. As a result these updated accounts will be posted out to all clubs.  The motions that were passed and will be effective for the 2011 season are as follows;

Motion One

“Affiliation fee increased to £200 in 2011”

Motion Two

“Permits for shows increased to £100 – proceeds to be split 60/40% between ABS Ltd and the relevant district”

Motion Three

First registration of boxers £20”

Motion Four

Re-registration of boxers £10”

Motion Five

“Boxers changing club mid season £10”

This is a positive outcome for the sport with clubs supporting the board but is also a positive benefit from an income point of view for the sport.

The one financial consideration from the increases approved will be the need for awareness of the impact of increases on clubs in socially deprived areas who may be less well off. Help will be available for these clubs via the new ABS Coach and Club Development Officer.

Key messages agreed between all concerned at the AGM were that positive steps had been taken in improving the governance of the sport and all agreed that better communication and connections between the strategic board, districts and clubs needs to continue and grow.

All in all, everyone saw the meeting as a significant step forward for the sport . The meeting concluded with a useful session of open discussion on how to make the sport better which was covered under AOCB.

ABS would like to thank everyone who attended the meeting.

ABS Ltd is delighted to announce its finalised team for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. The team will be as follows;

Iain Butcher 49kgs

Joe Ham 56kg

Josh Taylor 60kg

Aston Brown 69kg

Callum Johnson 81kg

Stephen Simmons 91kg

Ross Henderson 91kg+

Coaches – Mike Keane and Tony Kerr

Team Manager – Colin McEwen

The team is now in the final stages of its preparation and will travel down to Sheffield on 6-9 September 2010 to train with the GB squad again. Then the team will travel to Sweden on 14 September 2010 for a five day camp then leave with the full Scottish Team for Delhi on 23 September 2010.

The boxing commences on 05 October 2010 and finishes on 13 October 2010. The boxing programme can be viewed by following the link:

CWG2010_SportsProgramme_V1(1) 8 (26 08 2010)f(2)

We are saddened to have received communication regarding comments posted on a public forum regarding Callum Johnson and his selection for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. In future,  we ask if anyone has any questions they contact ABS directly to obtain the facts rather than speculating over untruths. Undoubtedly this has affected preparations and caused negativity within the numerous team training and camps that have been held recently.

We ask that the boxers and coaches receive everyone’s full support in the coming weeks for the build up to Delhi

The documentation for the AGM can now be downloaded from the documents section of the website. The AGM will take place this Sunday, 29 August 2010 at 1pm in the QUALITY HOTEL EDINBURGH AIRPORT Ingliston, Edinburgh, EH28 8AU Email: info@qualityhoteledinburgh.com

On 30 November 2010, the Scottish Government will introduce a new membership scheme to replace and improve upon the current disclosure arrangements for people who work with vulnerable groups.

The Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG Scheme), which delivers on the provisions outlined in the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) (Scotland) Act 2007 will:

* help to ensure that those who have regular contact with children and protected adults through paid and unpaid work do not have a known history of harmful behaviour,
* be quick and easy to use, reducing the need for PVG Scheme members to complete a detailed application form every time a disclosure check is required,
* strike a balance between proportionate protection and robust regulation and make it easier for employers to determine who they should check to protect their client group.

school pupilsThe PVG Scheme is Scotland’s response to the principal recommendation of the Bichard Inquiry Report which was undertaken following the tragic murders in Soham in 2002. This recommendation called for a registration system for all those who work with children and vulnerable adults in the UK that would confirm that there is no known reason why an individual should not work with these client groups.

The Scottish Government is committed to helping local communities flourish and become stronger, safer places to live. It has built upon what has been learned from current disclosure and disqualification services in Scotland to develop an efficient membership scheme that will strengthen protection for vulnerable groups and reduce bureaucracy.

Morre information will be posted on this once ABS receives further information.

ABS would like to confirm its third and final Women’s assessment day will take place on Sunday 12th September 2010 at
Leith Victoria ABC in Edinburgh between 1-3pm – Our Women’s coach Mark Geraghty has requested that as many female
boxers attend as possible. This assessment day is open to all ages and levels from Novice through to Open.

Following this assessment day Mark will produce a full report on the three assessment days along with some
recommendations on how the selected boxers are pitched in at the correct performance levels and how ABS
goes about growing a successful Women’s Team.

Report and latest pictures from  Mike Keane in Germany where our Boxers being recommended for Delhi 2010 are preparing;

Training has been going well and a sample of our daily schedule can be found below;

ABS Ltd is pleased to announce that the application forms for this even can now be downloaded from the DOCUMENTS section of the website. Forms will also be mailed to all clubs. The venue for this event will the the Time Capsule, 100 Buchanan Street, Coatbridge, ML5 1DL. The event will be held over 30 and 31 October 2010 and will be be open to Novice boxers with between 0-6 bouts in the Schoolboy, Junior, Youth, Senior and Female categories. Entries will not be accepted after Saturday 16 October 2010.

Jimmy Dunn will be visiting the following clubs in the next few days to assist with this process;

Cardenden ABC – 17 August 2010 (with James Docherty ABS Ltd Coach and Club Development Officer)

Blantyre Miners ABC – 20 August 2010

Glasgow Phoenix Club – 22 August 2010 from 11.30 am

Lochend ABC – 23 August 2010  (With James Docherty)

All will be from 6pm apart from on 22 August 2010.

The following is a link to the Help for Clubs webpage. This is a new section contained within the sportscotland website that explains how clubs can go about securing extra investment and help from various funding programmes. Should any club wish to discuss potential opportunities further please contact James Docherty, ABS Coach and Club Development Officer on 0845 241 7015.

http://www.helpforclubs.org.uk/

The following is a description of what Club Development entails

Club development is simply a process to capture a club’s plans for the future. Good club development is based on your club’s current position, capacity and aspirations rather than an unrealistic ideal of every club progressing towards “beacon” status.

Whether consolidating or expanding, recruiting more members or improving services for existing members every club should take a moment to stop and think.

Sport is becoming more professional and much better organised driven by a desire to improve. The most effective way to develop is to apply a simple (and not too time consuming) planning process to set your club on the path to a better future.  The benefits of this include:

- Defining and prioritising its aims and aspirations for the future.

- Using club resources (people, money, facilities) more effectively.

- Improving morale by involving members in decision making.

- Improving your chances of receiving funding support, such as local grant aid.

- A more professional approach.

- Improving services for current members and attracting new players/members.

- Improved and more productive relationships with local schools or your local authority.

Clubs should not feel obliged to plan – it is more a question of having an informed, objective look at the club’s future.

More information can be found on the benefits of club development at the following link;

http://www.helpforclubs.org.uk/TopicNavigation/Club+development/How+to+go+about+it.htm

Message from Peter Harrison, ABS Ltd Development Coach;

Team Training as usual this Sun 15th Aug at Scott Harrison’s School of Boxing ,French St, Dalmarnock  G404LB 11:30am – 2:00pm for Schoolboys and Juniors .

Please note that Mr Jimmy Dunn will be in attendance at this session in order to carryout  re-registrations. Cards will be collected by Jimmy and will be returned on 22 August 2010 at the same venue.

ABS is currently processing registration and re-registrations. We would like to ask all members that relevant paperwork should be sent to ABS Ltd, 5 Nasmyth Court, Houston Industrial Estate, Livingston, EH54 5EG.

ABS has identified a target completion date for re-affiliations of 23 Augst 2010. As an additional membership service, ABS will be arranging visits to various clubs throughout the country to conduct registrations/re-registrations on site.  These will be carried out by Jimmy Dunn and James Docherty – our new Coach and Club Development Officer. It is anticipated the registrations and re-registrations will become more efficient and accessible for member clubs by doing this.

2010 Novice Championship entry forms will shortly be posted out shortly to all clubs and will also be made availabe via the website. A clendar of ABS events has also been developed and this can be accessed by clicking on the link below;

ABS Calendar 2010-11 calendar

The following dates have been identified for the ABS Ltd National Championships;

30/31 October 2010 – Novice Championships

19/20 February 2011 – Prelims – Seniors

4 March 2011 – Semi Finals Seniors

11 March 2011 – Semi Finals Seniors

18 March 2011 – Finals Youths

25 March 2011 – Finals Seniors

30 April/01 May 2011 – Intermediate Championships.

ABS will also look to hold four home international events and the following dates have been identified – 11 & 18 December 2010 and 15 & 22 January 2011. Further details will be posted in due course.

The lastest edition of AIBA’s Inside Boxing  monthly newsletter can be opened by clicking on the link below;

inside_boxing_2010-07

Update from Peter Harrison, ABS Ltd Development Coach

Training as usual for Schoolboys, Juniors & Youths at the Glasgow Phoenix now named Scott Harrison’s School of Boxing 103 – 109 French St, Dalmarnock G404LR,  this Sunday 8th Aug  from 11:30am to 2:00pm bring your running shoes and sparring kit.

Report by Mike Keane ABS Performance Co-ordinator

3 August 2010

The flights from Edinburgh to Dublin were on time we arrived at the national stadium around 10.20am. The first training session was at 11.00am so the boys never got much of a chance to recover from the travel but took part anyway.

The training session was just up the road so the boys had a 5-10min jog at the running track Afterwards they were asked to complete 800m, four times in under three minutes. All our boys ran very well and were by no means lagging behind.

The team are staying at the staying in the Griffith College which does the job just fine. The boys were allocated their rooms then at 12.30pm Lunch which was just next to the gym consisted of soup, sandwiches and salad buffet. The next training session was in the gym open sparring.

Iain Butcher v Ryan Burnett/Paddy Barnes

Josh Taylor v Eric Donovan

Joe Ham v J.J.Nevin

Aston Brown v Willie McLoughlin

Callum Johnstone v Tom Mcarthy/Steve Ward

Steven Simmons v Steve Ward/Tom Mcarthy

Ross Henderson v Con Sheehan. All 4 rounds each.

The sparring was pretty hard going but all our boys coped very well and I would say they there has been an improvement in general fitness, attitude and general approach towards their boxing. Ireland only train twice a day – a morning session around 10.00am and afternoon session around 3.00pm.

04 August 2010

10am – Strength and Conditioning was held and the session split into two groups (under 64kgs first) 11am second group (over 64kgs).

3.00pm – 10 rounds of partner work, focusing on a variety of different attacks and defence moves and although it was supposed to be 60% power it never looked that way to me!  The boys ended up having a very worthwhile spar again and a generally an impressive performance from the squad. We finished off with an abs session, skipping and then a warm down.

05 August 2010

11.00am:- Jog up to the running track, 2 x 400 metre circuits with 4 sprints mixed in x 4 again looking to do the 2 circuits in under 3 mins which we achieved.

3.00pm:- Gym session 2 groups.

over 64kgs first 6 x 3 mins of partner work in ring i.e. lead hand only both boys,changing the theme each round. This was followed by 4 rounds on the bags with specific punches/moves.2 rounds skipping and a stretch.

All the boys have commented on the quality of the sparring and all are enjoying the camp. It is a very positive squad we have at the moment and they are looking forward to the challenge ahead.

06 August 2010

Training today at 10.00am consisting of 2 rounds shadow boxing, 4 rounds open sparring, 4 rounds bag work and 2 rounds skipping.

Sparring partners:- Josh v Eric Donovan/Steve Donnelly

Joe  v Paddy Barnes/Michael Conlon

Iain v Ryan Burnett

Aston v Willie Mcloughin/Paddy Gallagher.

As it says this was open sparring and as close to a bout as you will get our boys seem to be relishing this type of challenge and looked good.

Billy Walsh the High Performance Coach and his team of staff made us all very welcome here and thanked us for our input, we also thanked them for having us at their camp and Billy said we could return at any time when suitable.

To summarise:-This to me has been a very worthwhile camp and we can visually see the difference in the boxers involved and their confidence is also growing continuously.

ABS and the Districts held their first  joint meeting on Monday 02 August 2010. The meeting was scheduled to place back in as far back as January 2010 when the new Board of Directors was very keen to bring unity across the sport. The Board is especially keen to have the Districts functioning as operational arms of the sport and not functioning as three disjointed organisations.

The meeting focused on this and there was unanimous agreement that the Board and Districts need to and will work together to generate better harmony within the sport.

The meeting lasted for over three hours and many important subjects were covered including Calendar dates for 2010/2011 – Dates for all Scottish Championship events and also dates for new Home international events that will be published on the website very soon.

During the meeting a series of motions were unanimously agreed for the forthcoming AGM and there was wide agreement that the sport needs to start generating more of its own income.

Other key areas discussed were general communication protoscols, the improvement and standardisation of documentations within the Districts, standardisation of financial practices. Lastly the health & safety and the welfare of our boxers was discussed and the re-establishment of a medical commission was positively received.

ABS Ltd would like to congratulate Callum Johnston on his selection to box in the G.B V REST OF THE WORLD competition this weekend at 81 kgs. This is a great achievement for Callum as some of the world’s finest amateur boxers are included in a glittering line up of top names competing in Sheffield this weekend.

Two double World Champions, one of whom is also an Olympic gold medalist, an Olympic silver medalist and three European medal holders are among the stars set to feature.

They will be taking part in the Four Nations challenge that will see Great Britain’s best take on the rest of the world – China, Kazakhstan and France. The array of top boxers includes China’s Olympic and twice World Champion Shiming Zou (48kg), Olympic Silver medalist Zhilei Zhang (91+kg) and Kazakhstan’s double World Champion Serik Sapiyev (69kg).

The ABAE Council voted to continue running its existing coaching courses which means documentation for UKCC endorsement. ABAE is looking at establishing a working group to address concerns.  ABAE Regional Associations currently run coach education and the new system would prevent them from doing so which raises a host of issues.  All being well submission for endorsement in January 2011 (which would mean confirmation of endorsement from sports coach UK in April/May 2011).

The 2010 ABS Ltd AGM will be held at the Edinburgh Airport Quality Hotel, 101 Ingliston Rd,  Ingliston, Edinburgh EH28 8AU on Sunday 29 August at 1.00pm. Any competent motions for the agenda should be forwarded on to ABS Ltd, 5 Nasmyth Court, Houston Industrial Estate, Livingston, EH54 5EG.

2010 re-affiliation forms should also be forwarded on to ABS Ltd at the above address. This is also detailed on the re-affiliation forms that have been sent out to all clubs this week. Please note Re-registrations will also be carried out in Livingston via post or by arrangement to attend personally.

Please note that as part of ABS membership services the SME2 card can be re-registered at the ABS office at 5 Nasmyth Court, Houston Industrial Estate, Livingston, EH54 5EG on Tuesday 10 August 2010 only between 6.00pm to 10.00pm.  Please contact Jimmy Dunn in advance to notify on 07731943010.  FURTHER DATES WILL BE  IDENTIFIED AND ARRANGED.