Wimborne Boxing Club
February 25, 2019 | by Matt Halfpenny
Manchester Central (pictured) has today been unveiled as this year’s host venue for the prestigious finals of the newly-named England Boxing National Amateur Championships.
The showcase standalone finalé of the competition, formerly known as the National Elite Championships, comes to the North West on Saturday 13th April.
The pre-quarters, quarter-finals and semi-finals, meanwhile, will be staged in Nottingham at the Harvey Hadden Sports Village (pictured bottom) on Friday 5th, Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th April.
The Championships will feature some of the best talent in the country, including some boxers currently on the GB World Class Performance Programme hoping to win a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to take the finals of the England Boxing National Amateur Championships to the North West, particularly at such a stunning setting as Manchester Central,” said England Boxing’s Competitions and Events Manager Lynsey Lockey.
“It is a venue that, as one of the city’s former railway stations, is steeped in history, just like these Championships. It will provide a fitting backdrop and a fantastic atmosphere for what will undoubtedly be some brilliant boxing.
“We were aware that, after being in London last year, we also wanted to give competing members and coaches who live further north a turn in getting to the venue more quickly, easily and at a lower cost.
“We’re also excited to have an East Midlands venue involved for the qualifying stages, especially as Nottingham’s Harvey Hadden is an excellent, modern facility that is well-equipped for a multi-gender and divisional event such as this.”
A total of 21 bouts are expected to be staged on finals day – 11 male weights and 10 female weights – which will be the culmination of almost a month of boxing that begins with initial qualifiers in England Boxing’s regions.
Aside from breaks during the two World Wars, the Championships, historically known as the ABAs, have been contested every year since 1881 and produced such stellar champions as Henry Cooper, Frank Bruno, Nigel Benn, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Nicola Adams and Savannah Marshall.
Among the 2018 champions were Nina Hughes (Chad St Mary’s), Hannah Robinson (Birtley), Dalton Smith (Steel City) and Jordan Reynolds (Hoddesdon).
The 2019 event will carry the hashtag #EBNAC19 across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Further information, including entry and pre-qualifying details, will be posted on these social media channels, along with www.englandboxing.org, in due course.
