Let’s continue excellent progress, urges new AIBA Women’s Committee chair Coulson

Amanda Coulson is determined to use her new role as chair of AIBA’s Women’s Committee to continue the ‘excellent progress’ made by women’s boxing in recent years.

The appointment of the England Boxing Development Coach and four-times national champion to head up one of the world governing body’s seven committees was confirmed this week.

Coulson’s selection for the role followed an e-mail vote by the AIBA Board of Directors, and she will report in to the executive committee.

“Women’s amateur boxing has made huge strides forwards since my first competitive bout in 1999 – and I hope to help continue the excellent progress that has been made,” she said.

“Back then, there were only a handful of female boxers at any weight and it was very hard to get bouts both domestically and internationally, but, thankfully, that situation is improving all the time, with more and more women taking up the sport all over the world.

“The England Boxing Women’s Winter Box Cup, that was held for the first time in 2018 and attracts boxers from not just across England but all over Europe and beyond, shows the thirst for women’s competition is extremely high, as does the recent interest in the professional success of the likes of Nicola Adams, Natasha Jonas, Savannah Marshall and, of course, Katie Taylor.

“But women are also realising the power of boxing as a superb training tool to keep fit – even if they never step in the ring – and that is something we should be looking to harness as best we can.

“Hopefully, working alongside the rest of the committee as we come out of the Coronavirus Pandemic, I can help continue the momentum that has been building in women’s boxing, so that we can move things on and increase its popularity and influence even more.”

Coulson’s Women’s Committee will work alongside other AIBA committees for Competitions, R&J, Coaching, Champions and Veterans, Medical and Anti-doping and Marketing.

Each National Federation was encouraged to put forward candidates to be a part of the seven committee based on criteria detailed in AIBA’s regulations.

“The AIBA Committees have been established to ensure good governance and is one more important step in our reform programme,” said AIBA President Umar Kremlev.

“I am sure that our chairpersons will bring a level of expertise that will enable us to move forward and improve AIBA as an organisation.

“I am confident that Amanda’s vast knowledge and experience will make her a valuable contributor to the success of this important committee.”

Full List of AIBA Committee Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons

Competitions Committee

The Chair, Mr Michael Müller (Germany) has been a Secretary General of the German Boxing Association since 2010 to the present. Since 2010, Mr. Müller in his function as the Sports Director of the German Boxing Association has been responsible for supervising all the high-performance sport processes. He was CEO of the Local Organization Committee of the 2017 AIBA Men’s World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

The Vice-Chair, Mrs Zsuzsanna Tóth (Hungary) has been a Secretary General of the Hungarian Boxing Association since 2020. She was a Director of International Relations of Hungarian Boxing Association Position from 2014 to 2020.

R&J Committee

The Chair, Mr Christopher Mark Roberts (Scotland) is a former AIBA 3-Star Referee and Judge, GB Boxing Supervisor, Evaluator and Instructor, Competition Manager. His areas of expertise are global sports events management, leading multi-skilled teams, managing and delivering respective KPIs.

The Vice-Chair, Mr Wayne John Rose (Australia) has worked as Referee and Judge since 1979, officiated at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Commonwealth Games in 1998, 2002, and 2006 and many other major international tournaments. Retired in 2009. He has been a Chair of OCBC R&J Commission since 2015, AIBA R&J Instructor and ITO since 2013.

Coaches Committee

The Chair, Ervin Kade (Estonia) is an expert in Sports Training and Education, he has had experience in working at the AIBA Coaches Commission since 2013. He is also the head of the AIBA Coaches Task Group since 2020. He has been AIBA Coaches Instructor since 2013, Head Coach at Estonian Boxing Association 2008 – 2016, Head Coach at Finnish Boxing Association in 2005-2007.

The Vice-Chair, William Thomas Walsh (USA) is a proven high-performance professional who has delivered medal success at European, World and Olympic levels: London Olympic Games 2012 – 1 gold, 2 silver medals, Beijing Olympic Games 2008 – 1 silver, 2 bronze medals, 2014 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships – 1 gold medal.

Champions and Veterans Committee

The Chair, Mrs Mary Kom (India) won six gold, silver and bronze medals at eight AIBA World Boxing Championships from 2001 to 2019, competed at the London Olympic Games 2012 and won a bronze medal, became the first Indian female athlete to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games (2018) and the Asian Games (in 2014).

The Vice-Chair, Mr Michael Philip Carruth (Ireland) won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games 1992 and a bronze medal at the Men’s 1989 World Boxing Championships in Moscow. He has 12 National Titles (4 as an elite boxer). Mr. Carruth has been IABA Development Supervisor since 2010, Head Coach of Drimnagh Boxing Club.

Women’s Committee

The Chair, Mrs Amanda Jane Coulson (England) is a European and World Championships athlete with more than 20 years of experience in the elite international sport as an athlete, administrator and innovator. Worked as a team leader/head coach at the Youth Olympic Games 2018 with a team of 4 boxers and has been Full-Time Development Coach at England Boxing since 2015 and Sessional Performance Coach at GB Boxing since 2013.

The Vice-Chair, Mrs Magda Mohamed Esmail Sobhi (Egypt) is a PhD in Physical Education Philosophy. She is a Professor of Sport Psychology at Helwan University, Board Member and Chairman of the Technical Committee for women’s boxing at Egyptian Boxing Federation, Chairman of the Egyptian women’s national team at World Championships, a former member of AIBA Women’s Commission.

Medical & Anti-Doping Committee

The Chair, Dr Ioannis Filippatos (Monaco) is a Board Member and Olympic Team Doctor at Monaco Association of Sport, AIBA Ringside Doctor since 2013, Chairman of EUBC Medical Commission since 2016, AIBA Medical Courses Instructor since 2014. He won the EUBC award “Doctor of the Year” in 2018. Dr Filippatos worked as Doctor and Head Doctor at many international tournaments, including the Olympic Games.

The Vice-Chair, Dr Barbarito Gutierrez Cabrera (Cuba) is a doctor at the Cuban Boxing Federation since 1985, AIBA ITO and Ringside Doctor. He has been Chairman of AMBC Medical Commission since 2015, worked as a Doctor at 17 World Championships, 5 Olympic Games and 6 Pan American Games.

Marketing Committee

The Chair, Mr. Cezary Jedliński (Poland) has been Secretary General of the Polish Boxing Association since September 2019, Marketing Project Manager at Zjednoczone Przedsiębiorstwa Rozrywkowe S.A. from 2017 to 2019. His areas of expertise are marketing communications, events organization and public relations.

The Vice-Chair, Mr Dian Gomes (Sri Lanka) is Non-Executive Director at Nestle Lanka PLC since 2017. Mr Gomes has been a President of Sri Lanka Boxing Association from 2001 to 2007 and from 2017 to date, AIBA Board of Directors Member from 2020 to date, ASBC Executive Committee Member.