VIDEO: Your COVID-19 and competitions questions answered
February 11, 2021 | by Matt Halfpenny
Following the postponement of the England Boxing National Amateur Championships and National Schools Championships until later in the year, England Boxing’s Competitions and Events Manager Lynsey Lockey has recorded a video to answer a selection of your resulting questions.
She also covers a range of other topics relating to the Coronavirus Pandemic, including the restrictions and temporary club closures that have been put in place by the government.
You can watch the video in full clicking here.
One question not addressed on the video, but answered here is: Why can GB boxers, who are also amateurs train and compete, while grassroots amateur boxers can’t?
“The government’s interprets GB-level athletes as elite sportspeople, as they are training for Olympic and Commonwealth Games level competition and, as such, are treated in a similar way to professional boxers,” said Lockey.
“Like the pros, they are able to access a highly controlled environment where strict protocols are followed, including, crucially, regular monitoring, and there are small numbers in the gym at any one time – conditions and procedures that cannot be replicated in the day-to-day running of amateur boxing gyms.
“We understand and share the frustrations of clubs not being allowed to train during this current lockdown, and the adverse effects it is having on physical and mental health of members, and are just as keen as the Membership to get boxing back underway as soon as possible.
“We also recognise that there is a national Pandemic going on that is costing thousands of lives every day, meaning we need to follow laws laid down by the government.
“These laws and regulations help not only to protect our boxers’ health, which is of paramount importance, but also that of their family and friends too. Unfortunately, we have already seen a number of well-known figures in the boxing community pass away as a result of this awful virus, and we don’t want to see unnecessary deaths in a rush to return to boxing.”
