Mrs. Sadie Duffy – It was encouraging to witness the development of the Asian National Federations in Astana

The officials of the recent ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships are analyzing the busy competition. Mrs. Sadie Duffy of Ireland was the Technical Delegate of the ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan where she controlled all of the organizational part of the competitions.

The Irish official worked as Referee & Judge in several previous editions in the ASBC Asian Boxing Championships and this time she received the right for the very first time in our continent to lead the competition as Technical Delegate. Mrs. Sadie Duffy is a real enthusiasm in our sport, she is strict and she has the passion for boxing.

During my time as a Referee/Judge, I officiated at many ASBC Asian Boxing Championships. An indeed it is always an honour to receive an invitation to work with the Asian Boxing Confederation. The appointment for the ASBC Asian Junior and Youth Men and Women Boxing Championships was a moment in time that I will never forget. 

This was the ‘Big One’, I was appointed as the Technical Delegate for the event. This was something I never dreamed that I would accomplish in my life. To be honest I thought ‘Let’s Do This’ and We Did.

The ASBC, the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) did an outstanding job organising an event on this scale.  It was the equivalent of 4 events in 1, Junior Boys and Girls with 26 weight categories and Youth Men and Women with 25 divisions.  

Next to the organizers the Boxing didn’t disappoint me either. The strength and depth of talent in the Junior and Youths was phenomenal in Astana. This must be attributed to the forward thinking and hard work from the ASBC. A throwback to August 2019 and the inaugural ASBC Schoolboys Boxing Championship, again a very proud moment for me as I officiated at this blue-ribbon event.

Fast-forward to 2023 – Technical Delegate at the prestigious ASBC Asian Junior/Youth Men and Women Championships, Astana, Kazakhstan. Altogether 435 boxers was there in Astana and a big responsibility to ensure that everything went according to our plan.  The standard of boxing was at an extremely high level and certainly bodes well for the future of ASBC and their member Federations. 

It was encouraging to witness the emergence of more Federations achieving podium places, such as Chinese Taipei, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam to mention a few. I believe that this success will encourage their development programmes to continue well into the future and hopefully secure sustainable funding to support the same results.

I was blessed to have a great team of ITO’s, Referees and Judges, and Volunteers to assist in the day to day running of the event. Not forgetting the outstanding work from the ASBC Executive Members and Kazakhstan Boxing Federation. 

The Referee/Judging was of a high standard. There was a great representation of Referee/Judges from the participating Federations.  Everyone performed well.  I trust that they will share their knowledge and experience with fellow colleagues and inspire the next generation of Officials.After a few days at home my next assignment is the EUBC U22 Men and Women championships in Budva, Montenegro. There is an IBA 1-3 Star Referee/Judges upgrade exam taking place over the course of the championships. We will have 25 candidates participate. Then it’s IBA Junior Men and Women championships in Yerevan, Armenia still this month,” summarized her experiences the Technical Delegate of the competition, Mrs. Sadie Duffy.

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