The Cobra
02-25-2011, 03:21 PM
as per the canadian press
HALIFAX -- The president of Boxing Canada says having his sport knocked out of the Canada Winter Games is "a travesty" that will thin the fan base in British Columbia in four years' time.
John O'Shea said when he learned of the decision from the Canada Games Council he felt like a fighter who is disqualified without a warning.
"They knew, the Canada Winter Games people knew. Why didn't they write and tell us why we're out," he said in an interview of the decision taken last fall.
"We weren't forewarned it was coming down."
He contends that when the Games shift to Prince George, B.C., in February 2015 there will be disappointment among fans of the sport.
"When the people see this they're going to be wild. ... As far as I'm concerned it's a travesty," he said.
The final punches in boxing will be thrown Friday night at the Halifax Forum when the medals are handed out.
Council president Sue Hylland said the decision remains final until boxing improves its results on a confidential scorecard the council uses to choose which sports participate in the event.
Both the council and Boxing Canada declined to release a copy of the scorecard and supporting documents that led to the sport being dropped.
Hylland said the decision that decided the fate of boxing was the result of an open and fair process.
"We have more sports vying to be on the program than we can possibly satisfy, and as a result we have to be as open and transparent and as objective as possible ... in sports selection," she said in a telephone interview.
She said there's an assessment that takes place for all sports in the Canada Games before each competition.
Boxing ranked "lower than middle of the road" in a priority ranking of Canada Games sports by provincial and territorial sports bodies, she said.
The council also uses a federally created "excellence ranking" that includes a consideration of how the sport is performing in international competitions, she said.
"This is where boxing did lose some substantial points," said Hylland.
"Boxing used to field full teams (at the Olympics). You could almost guarantee medals. You look at 2008, we had one athlete on our Olympic team."
The sport also didn't fare well in an evaluation of its coaching training programs, added Hylland.
O'Shea said the problems could have been overcome if Boxing Canada had known before the fall of 2010 what criteria it had to improve on.
He argues the sport deserved a second chance, given it had helped build a fan base for the Games with packed houses since first bringing young boxers to competitions in 1971.
"Look at this venue," he said this week, gesturing at about 1,200 fans in the Halifax Forum.
"It's packed to the rafters. ... It's a major sport with a huge following and to keep us out is an injustice."
O'Shea believes the Games will lose ticket sales equivalent to men's hockey -- the other big draw for spectators.
Hylland said boxing can improve and reapply for future Games.
Plans are underway to improve the sport, said Robert Crete, the executive director of Boxing Canada, the governing body for about 6,000 amateur boxers.
He said the sport will improve its chances by sending more competitors to national championships, stepping up its training for coaches and creating a program to develop potential international competitors at a young age.
"The sport must also revamp its national certification program, with plans to train experts who will train the coaches to meet national standards," he said in an interview.
Some won't shed any tears if the sport is permanently dropped.
Angela Schneider, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario in London, has written academic papers arguing that boxing shouldn't receive public funding.
She accepts the sport has tightened medical oversight and altered rules to avoid concussions, but she still has some doubts of its value as a marquee sport.
"I had concerns on whether or not they had managed to modify the sport sufficiently to deal with the issues the medical professionals had raised," she said.
Crete counters that the sport has taken huge steps in all areas including safety, and will bounce back, overcoming critics and restoring past glory.
"We will box and we will be there in 2019," he said.
HALIFAX -- The president of Boxing Canada says having his sport knocked out of the Canada Winter Games is "a travesty" that will thin the fan base in British Columbia in four years' time.
John O'Shea said when he learned of the decision from the Canada Games Council he felt like a fighter who is disqualified without a warning.
"They knew, the Canada Winter Games people knew. Why didn't they write and tell us why we're out," he said in an interview of the decision taken last fall.
"We weren't forewarned it was coming down."
He contends that when the Games shift to Prince George, B.C., in February 2015 there will be disappointment among fans of the sport.
"When the people see this they're going to be wild. ... As far as I'm concerned it's a travesty," he said.
The final punches in boxing will be thrown Friday night at the Halifax Forum when the medals are handed out.
Council president Sue Hylland said the decision remains final until boxing improves its results on a confidential scorecard the council uses to choose which sports participate in the event.
Both the council and Boxing Canada declined to release a copy of the scorecard and supporting documents that led to the sport being dropped.
Hylland said the decision that decided the fate of boxing was the result of an open and fair process.
"We have more sports vying to be on the program than we can possibly satisfy, and as a result we have to be as open and transparent and as objective as possible ... in sports selection," she said in a telephone interview.
She said there's an assessment that takes place for all sports in the Canada Games before each competition.
Boxing ranked "lower than middle of the road" in a priority ranking of Canada Games sports by provincial and territorial sports bodies, she said.
The council also uses a federally created "excellence ranking" that includes a consideration of how the sport is performing in international competitions, she said.
"This is where boxing did lose some substantial points," said Hylland.
"Boxing used to field full teams (at the Olympics). You could almost guarantee medals. You look at 2008, we had one athlete on our Olympic team."
The sport also didn't fare well in an evaluation of its coaching training programs, added Hylland.
O'Shea said the problems could have been overcome if Boxing Canada had known before the fall of 2010 what criteria it had to improve on.
He argues the sport deserved a second chance, given it had helped build a fan base for the Games with packed houses since first bringing young boxers to competitions in 1971.
"Look at this venue," he said this week, gesturing at about 1,200 fans in the Halifax Forum.
"It's packed to the rafters. ... It's a major sport with a huge following and to keep us out is an injustice."
O'Shea believes the Games will lose ticket sales equivalent to men's hockey -- the other big draw for spectators.
Hylland said boxing can improve and reapply for future Games.
Plans are underway to improve the sport, said Robert Crete, the executive director of Boxing Canada, the governing body for about 6,000 amateur boxers.
He said the sport will improve its chances by sending more competitors to national championships, stepping up its training for coaches and creating a program to develop potential international competitors at a young age.
"The sport must also revamp its national certification program, with plans to train experts who will train the coaches to meet national standards," he said in an interview.
Some won't shed any tears if the sport is permanently dropped.
Angela Schneider, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario in London, has written academic papers arguing that boxing shouldn't receive public funding.
She accepts the sport has tightened medical oversight and altered rules to avoid concussions, but she still has some doubts of its value as a marquee sport.
"I had concerns on whether or not they had managed to modify the sport sufficiently to deal with the issues the medical professionals had raised," she said.
Crete counters that the sport has taken huge steps in all areas including safety, and will bounce back, overcoming critics and restoring past glory.
"We will box and we will be there in 2019," he said.