(COLORADO
SPRINGS, COLO.) – The 2013 USA Boxing National Championships
will be an event unprecedented in the tournament’s prestigious
history. For the first time, the nation’s premier Olympic-style
boxing event will showcase five different divisions in men’s and
women’s action with new age groups being introduced in to
national action. The 400-plus boxers currently registered for
the tournament will be broken up into the men’s and women’s
elite, men’s and women’s youth and men’s senior divisions for
the week-long tournament in Spokane, Wash.
The
winners in the men’s elite division, which will include boxers
ages 19-40, will advance to the 2013 AIBA Men’s World
Championships, the first major international event of the new
quadrennial. Following the recent rule changes made by AIBA, the
elite male participants will box without headgear, mirroring
what they will see at the World Championships and subsequent
international events. The men’s elite competitors will be the
only athletes to box without headgear.
The
women’s elite division will also feature boxers in the 19-40 age
range with the competitor list including returning Olympians
Marlen
Esparza
(Houston,
Texas) and
Queen
Underwood
(Seattle,
Wash.), a reigning World Champion and seven current or former
World Championships medalists. While the ladies won’t compete in
a World Championships event in 2013, the winners will enjoy
elite level international competitions later in the year.
The youth
division in both men’s and women’s competition is being
introduced to the USA Boxing National Championships for the
first time. The younger age class includes athletes born in 1995
and 1996, and the youth division will feature some of the most
talented athletes in USA Boxing’s ranks, including 2012 Olympic
gold medalist
Claressa
Shields
(Flint,
Mich.). In the past, USA Boxing has held an Under 19 National
Championships event, but the participants were eligible to
compete in USA Boxing National Championships as well.
The final
division will be the men’s senior division, which will include
competitors that are the same age as the men’s elite
contestants, but have chosen to continue to compete with
headgear. The winners in the men’s senior division will be
crowned national champions, but will not advance to
international competition.
The
headgear removal and the new age groups aren’t the only major
changes to the sport, AIBA has also chosen to move to a 10-point
must system, similar to what is used in professional boxing.
Olympic-style boxing has used computerized scoring since the
1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
Over 400
boxers have registered for the tournament with online
registration running through Friday, March 22. A full list of
registered athletes will be released following the completion of
registration, and a current list can be found at
www.usaboxing.org.
The 2013
USA Boxing National Championships is being hosted by the
Northern Quest Resort & Casino in conjunction with The Hub
Sports Center and the Spokane Sports Commission. Athletes will
arrive on March 30 and 31 with competition running from April
1-6. Tickets, which start at only $5, are on sale now through
the Northern Quest box office and can be purchased at
www.northernquest.com.
Full session passes are available for purchase at $100 through
March 22 as well.
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