Commonwealth Games, sports committee 1989 to 1994

Victoria Games Sports Committee: by brian zelley

Inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame 2014.

Of course not all folks involved were recognized by the GVSHOF.

Most folks that participated during the time period could be found in the minutes of the Sports Committee along with topics and key decisions.For instance on November 4, 1991 the list of names includes 27 names including the recording secretary Corrine Lalonde. Chairman was Jim Carter.
The guest speaker was Andre Gallant for Sports Canada.

                                        Some of Canada's Boxing Team in 1994
                                              including BC boxer Allan Bayne

           

Allan Bayne

                                                                           

CANADA at the 2012 London Olympics

THE CANADIAN OLYMPIC JOURNEY:  by Brian Zelley


*The first major event for Canadian athletes at the 2012 London Olympics
will be the opening ceremonies on Friday, July 27, 2012.  Leading Canada's
march into the stadium will be the flag bearer from Victoria Simon Whitfield
followed by the athletes from aquatics to wrestling.  


Some names of interest in Canadian diving include the likes of
Emilie Heymans and Alexandre Despatie, then we have boxing with
three athletes Custio Clayton, Simon Kean and Mary Spencer.  

British Columbia Amateur Boxing Hall results for 2012

SELECTION for BC Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame: by Brian Zelley


*The process is now complete with the selection of a fine group
of nominees which includes boxers, builders, two clubs and
one event.

A very good selection for 2012
starting with Roger Adolph,
a former amateur and pro boxer,
and now involved in coaching.


The boxers include a wide range of 
talent with Allan Bayne, Laurie Mann, 
Michael Olajide Jr. and Donnie Orr.


Builders include:
the late Campbell River coaches
Charles John and George Shiels,  Bert Lowes, George Armson and 
current past president of Boxing Canada John O'Shea.


In the junior/youth category, Tony Duffy joins 2011 selection
Alan Brown.  And, a new category is Women in Boxing which
now has Mandy LaPointe (boxer) and Marg O'Reilly (builder).


In the clubs and events section, two clubs with decades of 
activity include the Nanaimo Boxing Club and the 
Spruce Capital Boxing Club of Prince George.  The event
chosen was the joint tournament in May of 1984 being the
1984 Junior Nationals and the Senior box-offs.    With these
two clubs and major event selected, it adds hundreds of 
boxing alumni to the hall of fame from Nanaimo boxers
from Jack Snaith to Zach McKay and the various coaches
such as Clark MacLellan, Joe Preston and Barry Creswell.
And, the Spruce Capital club gives us many names from
Jack Meda to Wayne Sponagle.  But, the 1984 Alumni
stretches from east to west including coaches such as 
the late BOB EDGETT, officials such as the late
FRED FULLER and RON WHALLEY and past
presidents of Boxing Canada like JERRY SHEARS,
and many boxers ranging from the BC team to other
provinces:  Some random names would include -
Corey Burton, Wesley Sunshine, Aaron Wolfe, Charles Beaudry,
Tony Francis, Mario Bergeron, Jamie Sparks, Clint Dumay,
Tom Glesby, Willy Curry, Shawn O'Sullivan, Stephen Nolan,
Peter Britt and Ken Johnson, and many others.

Regulating Provincial boxing, kickboxing and mma

THE ROAD  TO REGULATING THE FIGHT SPORTS:

By Brian Zelleu


Introduction
With the increase in popularity of
MMA, and the continueation of
professional boxing and kickboxing
there is an urgent need to have 
provincial regulations to monitor,
supervise and regulate the sports
with a set of standard rules and
regulations to protect the public
interest, the safety of the fighters
and to ensure timely changes are made on a uniform and consistent
basis for the activity in all regions of the Province.


A FOCUS ON THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA:
*At the present time the various sports are regulated by 
municipal bodies in only some of the towns and cities such
as Nanaimo and Victoria, but in some places that have
various levels of amateur boxing or kickboxing there are
no bodies or organizations to help with the progression into
the promotion and regulation of the sports on a professional
level.


For the best long term interest, the time has come for the
various sports to unite in a common cause to urge the
necessary political involvement to pass a bill to authorize
an effective provincial boxing. kickboxing and martial arts
commission.   This will enable all fight groups to operate
within one set of rules and policies and expand to more
locations in the province to help in the growth of the sports
and to return some economical benefits to the various clubs,
athletes and the communities throughout British Columbia.

BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATEUR BOXING NEWS, March 2012

BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATEUR BOXING HALL OF FAME


The Updated List as at April 19th., 2012


*Two additions to the list of nominees are:
Marg O'Reilly and John O'Shea.


Marg was a long time member of the Board of Directors
for the British Columbia Amateur Boxing Association.


John is a recent president of Boxing Canada and
has been active in Boxing BC events in the past.

*Each of the individuals nominated have a story to tell and in many
ways there are connections.  For Allan Bayne of Prince George and
Donnie Orr of Victoria, one could say the 1994 Commonwealth Games
in Victoria was the connecting factor.  Allan Bayne was one of the  
Canadan boxers in the Games, but part of the build-up of the Games
was a revival of amateur boxing in Victoria that would see Donnie Orr
become the big star that would fight his way onto the 2000 Canadian
boxing Olympic team in 2000.


For the Nanaimo Boxing Club and the Spruce Capital Warriors
boxing club of Prince George one individual that was connected to 
to both clubs is current boxing coach Bob Pegues.  He was one of
the original members of the Nanimo club that began in 1971 and
would coach at the Spruce Capital club before starting his own
club to develop Canadian champion Kenny Lally and boxer
Jag Seehra.  Other nominees connected to the Spruce Capital
club are.  Laurie Mann, Allan Bayne and Wayne Sponagle.
Wayne is the present coach of the boxing club which had 
Harold Mann as one of the original coaches for many years. 


For Harry Twist and Bert Lowes, they both were former coaches
of inductees Freddy Fuller and Frank Scott.  Both Freddy and Frank
were members of Harry's South Burnaby boxing club when they were
just junior boxers, and in September 1967 they both joined the
Vancouver Firefighters Boxing Club that was coached by Bert Lowes
and Pat West.  Bert also coached Roger Adolph at one time in the Sixties.


George Shiels and Charles John were coaches of the Campbell River
Eagles Boxing Club which was inducted in 2011 in the club category.


Tony Duffy, nominated for the Junior and Youth Category was also
on the BC junior boxing team that competed in the 1984 Junior 
Nationals which has been nominated in the even category,  Nominees
George Armson and Bert Lowes were also connected to the 1984
Junior Nationals and Senior Olympic box-offs. George was the
President of the host association Boxing BC and Bert was
one of the ring officials.  Bert also served as a volunteer at 
the 1994 Commonwealth Games where boxer Allan Bayne
competed.

AMATEUR BOXING and the BC WINTER GAME

GOLDEN MEMORIES OF THE 1984 BC WINTER GAMES
By Brian Zelley, B. Comm, CA

Introduction


It has been 27 years since I
was involved directly in the
BC WINTER GAMES.  In
fact, I was involved in two
as a boxing official at
Revelstoke in 1983, and
Fort St. John in 1984.
Also, and the then 
editor of the 
"BC Amateur Boxing News",
I had an opportunity to report
on the 1983, 1984 and 1985
Games.  The following is my
report dated March 1984 
concerning the Games at
Fort St. John, BC.


"Special Report:  BC WINTER GAMES, FORT ST JOHN"
by Brian W. Zelley, editor of the BC Amateur Boxing News,
in the March 1984 issue:


The first BC Winter Games was held at Kamloops in 1979.  Since that time
the Games have been held on an annual basis.  The 1984 Winter Games
took place at Fort St. John March 1st to 4th.  The Games were a Success.
The event was a first class affair from arrival to departure due to the
effort of the over 2800 volunteers from Fort St. John.


The opening ceremony took place at the North Peace Recreation Centre.
It was a gala affair from the music provided by the Winter Games band
under the direction of ANDRE KAUFMAN and the "Rotary Pipe Band",
the parade of athletes, coaches and officials, the torch bearing by
REJEAN ARCHAMBAULT, DEBBIE PRESTWICK and ROD CORRIVEAU, 
and the official opening by Premier Bennett. The Master of Ceremonies was
Bernie Pascall, while the guest speakers were Premier Bennett, the honourable
James Chabot, Tony Brummet, Mayor Brian Palmer,Carolyn Krauss 
and Ron Butlin (Chairman and manager of the BC Games).


The amateur boxing competition was a smashing success due to the efforts of
Bert Lowes, George Armson, local assistance from Grant Spelsburg and the many
volunteers. 


 BC AMATEUR BOXING PARTICIPANTS (condensed version)


Referees and Judges:
Bert Lowes, Fred Fuller, Allan Stockdale, Thorky Larsen,
Vic Murdoch, Brian Zelley and Lorne Turner.
Coaches:
Mike Moore, Jamie Ballard, Ron Reiter, Jolly Edwards, Glynn Jones,
Wally Hill, Darryl Olsen, Cliff Lutley, Jim Fair, Art Smith, Monty Brown,
Dick St. Louis, Mark Valois and Leif Albrechtsen.
Boxers:
Zone 1:  Doug Thurman, Mike Schraepel,
Steve Schraepel,  Roc Leduc and Jamie Bell.
Zone 2:  Todd Alaine, Jerome Briat, Mike Cleary, 
Brad Moran, Jesse Randhawa and Mike York.
Zone 3: Jim Butler, Dan Carson, Ken Eastman, 
Steve Nezaticky, Brad Scott and Dave Slack,
Zone 4:  Jason Trottier, Andeas Stiller, 
Harjinder Gill, Tom Germain and Jason Broad.
Zone 5:  Tony Johnson, Lonnie McQueen, 
Ronnie McQueen, Duncan Murdoch and Scotty Scott.
Zone 6:  Paddy Nelson, Tim Cessford, 
Trent Storey and Graham Walton.
Zone 7:  Mike Carlson, David Gray, 
Mark Jaeger, Rod Lolly and Albert Smith.
Zone 8:  Dwayne Testawitch, Vince Schryver,
Todd Hatley, Lyle Hall and Peter Agli. 

2012 THE CANADIAN JUNIOR and YOUTH BOXERS

The 2012 Tournament:   By Brian W. Zelley

It is hoped that this preliminary history and the

follow-up results will provide some Golden Memories

for those that participate including the 

boxers, coaches, officials and other volunteers.

THE LIFEBLOOD OF CANADA's BOXING FUTURE:

                                         MAX RIZZI, 2011 Junior Champion
                                              from the Big Tyme Boxing Club
                                                   coached by Bryon Mackie
                                        (the photo was included in a story by
                                        Mike Maloney, "Orangeville Banner"


Introduction
Looking back, the only junior or youth national  tournament
that I have covered in detail was the "1984 Junior Nationals 
and Senior box-offs.  There were no high expectations of who
would win, but has the action rolled it became clear that a few 
of the boxers would be in the running for the best boxer award.
At the end of the process, the three standouts were
Eric Grenier, Scotty Olson and Stewart Hilton. 
But one thing was clear, even some of those that did not win
the 1984 Junior title had the skills and dedication to make
a difference in the future.  Getting beyond, this tournament, 
some of those that did not win a national title in 1984 would advance
and be part of Canada's 1988 Olympic boxing team. 

                     one of the publicity photos in a promo video


As the action progresses between February 28 to March 3, the same
will be true that a select few will shine, but when we fast forward to 2016
and it is possible that any boxer could be part of the 2016 team.
                                           

- 2012 Junior and Youth Boxing Championships:
By Brian Zelley http://zelleyonboxing.blogspot.com/

Looking forward for Canadian boxing, it will likely
be the current youth and junior boxers that will be the Senior open champions that will participate in the 2014 Commonwealth Games or the 2016 Olympics.


So it is important for all those involved in the sport of 
amateur boxing in the year 2012 to support and 
encourage excellence in performance as the best
of 2012 engage in the 2012 Boxing Canada
Junior and Youth Championships that will take
place in St Hyacinthe, Quebec between 
February 28 to March 3, 2012.


For the young junior boxers there should be no high expectations, just
an opportunity to expand their level of experience to prepare for 
future youth boxing competition.


For the Youth boxers, this is an opportunity to fine tune their
ring skillls and expand their experience fighting against a 
broad range of boxers with different skills, styles and 
experiences.  At the end of the tournament, regardless of the 
results they have the opportunity to improve on their strengths
and minimize their weaknesses and errors as they prepare for
future senior open competition and represent Canada in
future International competition against the best in the world.


THE KEY OBJECTIVE OF THIS BLOG WILL BE TO 
RECOGNIZE ALL THE BOXERS FROM EACH PROVINCE
and to follow their performances as they engage in battle.  For some
it will be possible to highlight some past achievements with the help
of the boxers, coaches, friends and fans.  Each one has an 
opportunity to be recognized and profiled.

                (Boxers from Ontario, some are expected to compete in the
2012 Junior/Youth Nationals, photo courtesy of Billy Irwin) 


2011 Youth  Champions:
some of the champions will not be in the 2012 action as they
are now seniors, so we are expected to see some new names.

                                       (Boxing Canada list of 2011 Youth  Champs.)

                                      (2011 Youth Women Canadian Champions)


2011 Junior (Male) Champions:

2012 BOXING TEAMS
(photo -  c adams, Cranbrook, BC)

BOXING BC JUNIOR and YOUTH TEAM
*you can't hit what you can't see", so the 
BC team will have a hidden strategy to 
keep the other Provincial boxers 
looking into the dark and punching
fresh air and missing the target.
-this of course, is idealism at it's best.


It is expected that BC boxers will
uphold the tradition of winning
some titles, and placing well in 
the others.


The two team coaches have a
variety of experience and they
should be helped along by
other coaches that make
 the trip to Quebec.








The complete team details will be posted on or before the 
starting date of the Nationals that are scheduled to begin on
February 28, 2012.

                        Connor McKinley, preparing for action

*The team will be led by coaches Matt Brown and Billy Watson.
However, coach Graham McIntosh of Kelowna is expected to attend.


A young MARCUS SANDHU back in early years:

              (photo courtesy of Marcus Sandhu of Astoria Boxing Club)
                  There were many boxing photos that could be selected,
       I  picked this one that was posted in 2008 because it shows early
   years, winning one of those little trophies and having family support.
     then getting beyond those early years to continue the journey.


Good to hear from team coach Matt Brown who is working six
days a week getting ready for the tournament including time
spent preparing Cody and Jess for their shot at regaining a
National title.

  Matt also took time to visit the Astoria boxing
 club where Marcus Sandhu is preparing for
 a trip to Quebec.


In the next little while Matt will have many
of the team members stop at the Mission City
Boxing Club.  Also, there is a possibility
that former Canadian champion and now 
an official Derrick Hoyt will visit to discuss
new rules to coaches and boxers.






BOXING ALBERTA JUNIOR and YOUTH TEAM
Contact person for Boxing Alberta is SILVIO FEX

*Alberta Team members will be listed upon receipt to the details from
BOXING ALBERTA officials.


BOXING SASKATCHEWAN JUNIOR and YOUTH TEAM
*One of the names mentioned as part of the Team is JARID CLARKE.
jared will be competing in his second Nationals tournament and for
2012 he will compete in the featherweight division.  Later, it is expected
that Jarid will be part of a team that will travel to Wales for a show.
Jarid is a member of the Swift Current Friendship Boxing Club
which is coached by Robert Hattum.  

*Team members will be listed as soon as the official team  is released by 
Boxing Saskatchewan or Boxing Canada.  Some of the boxers are:
David Edwards, Elijah Dela Cruz, Logan Cloutier and Claudino Nelson.


BOXING MANITOBA JUNIOR and YOUTH TEAM
*Phillip Natividad indicated the team to be confirmed January 30th.

TEAM MANITOBA COACHES: 
 Mark Collins of Alliance  and Mike Frederickson of Brandon

Boxers that will compete in the Senior final team selection box=off
include Brandt Butt,  Andrew Gardiner,  Brad Katona,  Jan Quinit,
and Katie Saull.
Junior or Youth boxers include:
Julian Alvarez, Clayton Bruchanski, and Natasha Armstong 


Manitobs clubs that will be represented include:
Alliance,  Brandon,  Cresentwood, Eastman, 
Orioles and United. 




BOXING ONTARIO JUNIOR and YOUTH TEAM
*Team coaches for Boxing Ontario will be
Billy Irwin and Bob Wilcox.

    (part of the story, full story in the Niagara Falls Review)
Boxing Ontario is expected to field a team of 30 and
Coach Irwin indicates five of those should be from
his club.  Those named include:
Gabe and Josh Lupia, Mike Abbruscato, Lucas Badhl and Dallas Sexton.
Boxers from other Ontario clubs includ Zack Ridgewell.

One of the expected boxers returning to regain a title 
will be ZSOLT DURANYI Jr.   Zsolt is a boxer with 
the "Clancy's Boxing Academy" and his chief coach and trainer
is former Canadian champion and Olympic boxer Chris Johnson.
(one of the recent stories about Zsolt was by Iain Colpitts that was
published on the http:mississauga.com/ site.
Coach Johnson is expected to be in attendance at the tournament.
http://mississauga.com/  following an interview
with Chris Johnson.  Chris is banking on   speed and power
will be the two qualites  that will mine GOLD in Quebec.

     Valuable Family Support for boxer Zsolt Duranyi Jr.
                                (photo by permission of Zsolt)


*Two of the Ontario boxers were profiled in the :ST CATHERINES STANDARD"
including defending champion JAKE JAMES and first timer STEVEN RYAN.
Two coaches quoted in the article were John Robertson and Joe Corigan.


BOXING QUEBEC JUNIOR and YOUTH TEAM


One of the expected woman boxers is JOCELYN GUENETTE.

BOXING NEW BRUNSWICK

*The team for 2012 will be reported when the official list is released by
Boxing New Brunswick or Boxing Canada.


BOXING NOVA SCOTIA

JASON DOWNEY wins gold at the Canada Winter Games

                          CYRUS TAYLOR, TEAM NOVA SCOTIA
                    (photo from "The Annapolis County Spectator" - January 2012)


One of the coaches expected to travel to Quebec at
the end of February will be BRUCE HARKNESS
of the Pegasus Boxing Club.  Also, boxer 
CYRUS TAYLOR is expected to compete.
(the Harkness and Taylor news was from
Lawrence Powell, "The Annapolis County Spectator"
- December 17, 2011).


quote from the past :
"...to be successful, you have to have good work habits
and be coachable...", South Shore Boxing Club coach
Dave Penny in a boxing story that included Brett Fraser.
Fraser was one of Boxing Nova Scotia's boxers in the
Canadian Winter Games.  Others included:
jason Downey, Matthew Whitford and Cyrus Taylor.


THE OFFICIAL NOVA SCOTIA TEAMS:

Jenna Bernard if Membertou will be entering her second Nationals.
In the "Cape Breton Post" she indicated that she may meet Quebec's
Jocelyn Guenette in her weight division. 


Brad Ross of the Sydney Boxing club is expected to be one of the
team coaches.  But, other coaches that are expected to attend will
be Greg Martin, Wayne Gordon and  Bruce Harkness.

                           JOEY and STEPHANIE seeking redemption in the ring
                                (part of the senior box-off action with a clear focus)


TAYLOR ROSS speaks for the first timers in the Nationals.
"...this is my first year...whatever happens, happesns.
As long as I do my best. - taylor ross, in the Caper Breton Post.


RING OFFICIALS
The ring officials ready for action in the Nationals have not
been made public but some of the key folks in recent years:
include 
Sonny Wong, Ian Gibson, Roland Labbe, Claude Plante, 
Pierre Chiasson, Ed Blanchard, Bill Arsenault and Mike Summers.


VOICES  from the PAST JUNIOR and YOUTH BOXERs
For the current gathering of boxers, coaches and officials
they will all have a story to tell at the completion of the show.
But, what are the views of past members of these tournaments?


Round 1:  Graham McIntosh, all things are possible with new beginnings:

The first round by current boxing coach Graham McIntosh is a knockout
and gives the current boxers some vision for the possible future, but that
journey will require additional experience but they are on the right road.


Round Two:  1984 Flashbacks
It was back in 1984 when I was one of the three "best boxer award" judges.
There was a lot of talented juniors and box-off seniors.  On a broad level
in got the many volunteers in British Columbia to do their small part in the
journey of each boxer.  And, some of the boxers would go on to win medals
in various tournaments such as the 1984 and 1988 Olympics and the 
Commonwealth Games.  I have had an opportunity to do a number of stories
on the tournament and some of the boxers.  The first article appeared in the
June 1984 issue of the "BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATEUR BOXING NEWS".
- then editor, Brian W. Zelley.


Round Three:  Paul "P-Mac"MacKenzie, "Chase Those Dreams"

Thanks to Paul MacKenzie, for taking time away from his now 
professional journey to send a message to the junior and youth
boxers of today.  Gotta love that "Chase Those Dreams" close.


BOXING CANADA PREPARES FOR THE ACTION:
*Boxing Canada primary preparation will take place on
February 27 th. with a referees and judges clinic, and a
technical meeting..  Aside from the Junior and Youth
Championships, the senior box-off bouts are important
as the final winners will be included on the National Team.


SENIOR BOXERS and the FINAL TEAM SELECTION
*this portion of the tournament will cut short the dreams and hopes
of many Canadian boxers to earn a spot on the Olympic team.
For some it will be a door for them to enter and travel to Brazil
for the last change.  


Jag Seehra and Bob Pegues

 *Two of the BC boxers that will compete will be
Jag Seehra (Prince George)  and Dylan Bishop (Maple Ridge), 

Some of the competition will include:
Josh  O'Reilly, Chris Plaitis and Brad Katona.
A recent "Prince George Citizen" story  was titled:
"Seehra looks to keep National B team status" 

(photo: Maple Ridge senior boxer and
2010 BC Golden Boy  Dylan Bixshop.



TIMELINES for THE NATIONALS per BOXING CANADA:


*Prior to the start of the tournament on February 28 th.
there will be a clinic and a technical meeting for officials.
The actual tournament will begin on February 28 th. with
official registrations, medicals and weigh-ins.  The
preliminary bouts will begin in the evening.  This will
be followed in subsequent days of quarter finals, 
semi-finals and then the finals.  For the senior boxers like Seehra, Bishop,
O'Reilly and Nova Scotia's Joey Laviolette this will be the final team 
selection and will determine how many boxers will earn the right to
attend the men's final chance at the Olympic Team  in the competition
in Brazil. 


THE ACTION BEGINS"
*some of the early results of the boxing action for juniors and youth:

*Early results as reported by Philip Natividad of Manitoba was
 Quinit wins his opening bout with a victory over 
Noran Lachance of Ontario.  Also, a couple of boxers were uncontested.  


*BC boxer Spencer Howard has reported he lost his first
bout to the Canadian champion in the Nationals.  Indicated the
champion "hits hard".

    (some of the official results form Boxng Canada including senior action)


*Connor McKinley, of Boxing BC  reports that he won his prelim bout
and is ready to face theboxer from Team Ontario on Friday. 
Boxer Marcus Sandhu of BC faces Boxing Saskatchewan
boxer on Thursday in quarter-finals.

*BC's Connor McKinley ready to face the music in subsequent action.  BC's.
the division includes the heavy hitting Zsolt Daranyi and Ontario's skilled
Mason Blythe.


Jessy Brown moves forward in a heavily contested division including
Saskatchewan's Logan Clouthier and Ontario's Rega Jihad.


A quaterfinals bout:  Downey vs Adams

*Jason Downey of Nova Scotia over Colin Adams of BC 
The journey of Cranbrook boxer Colin Adams was reported
in his local newspaper with the following headline:
"Adams takes bronze at national boxing tournament"
- as reported by Trevor Crowley, "The Daily Townsman". 









*Jarid Clarke of Saskatchewan earned a victory over Travis Benoit of Nova Scotia,
but in the second bout lost to Ontario's Zack Ridgewell.  In "The Saskatchewan
Booster",  some of the details of Jarid's journey were reported.


*Ryan Sanford of Nova Scotia moved forward with a victory over 
Quebec's Michael Blanchet.


*Reported in "Herald Sports" was in senior competition, Joey Laviolette
dropped a bout to Justin Hocko.  And, the champion Rodolfo Velasquez
was defeated by Jermaine Badchkam.


In the final, HOCKO of Windor wins Gold with a victory over
Hamilton's BADCHKAM.


In senior action JAG SEEHRA of BC will fight in the finals to determine 
the B-Team member. BRAD KATONA of Manitoba won the final bout. 


For Team BC, Cody Brown win gold in juniors, but Jessy Brown
settles for bronze.  Nova Scotia's Cyrus Taylor came through to win
gold with Max Rizzi settling for silver in the Youth 81 kg division.

                    (photo courtesy of Ontario team coach Billy Irwin)


Saturday Action and the first 13 bouts:

*Based on past performances in previous years and early bouts in this
tournament, some of the bouts such as the Zsolt Daranyi vs Mason Blyth 

coud have been predcted.  In the final Zsolt won the title.
Daranyi is  trained by former champion Chris Johnson.

 But there were some surprising results such as
the performances of Alisha Enslen and Michael Abbruscato.


POST TOURNAMENT VIEWS:
Mark Collins, one of the Manitoba coaches, had some thought provoking
comments on the tournament.  They are the words that express
co-operation and communication on a high level.

Billy Irwin is one of our great boxers, and like others he is paying it back
by coaching and his participation in the tournament was appreciated
and his comments before and after the tournament are worthy of posting.

In the post tournament buzz, there was a story in the "Miagara Advance".
In a story by sarah Ferguson, the title was 
"Teens win Gold and Bronze  in first natonal boxing competition"
*A photo appered with coach Billy Irwin with boxers
Gabe and Josh Lupia.  Bill indicated "he was proud of how well
Josh and Gabe performed along with three other fighters from
"Fight ClubCanada"..."  
*Kerry Fahlman reports on Medicine Hat boxer Alisha Enslen:

                                                      Alisha Ensien
                            Medicine Hat Boxing Club
                            Best Female and Champion

                                        (photo courtesy of Kerry Fahlman
                                                  Medicine Hat, Alberta)


*the head coach of the BC, Matt Brown looks back at the
experience:
Coach Brown back at the gym with boxers
Cody and Jess Brown and fellow Mission City
coach Dale Gatin.


The pre-tournament hope:

The post-tournament message:

*****Matt's  post-tournament comments display some fine sportmanship
with the reference and praise if Ontario coach Billy Irwin and the 
outstanding performance of Team Ontario.*****