While Boxing Western Cape is heeding the government’s call for people to stay at home and be safe, they are hoping to still host the national championships for elite and youth boxers in July.
That was the word from their president, advocate Lwandiso Kwababana, who also serves as chairperson of the Coaching Commission, a sub-commission of the Western Cape Provincial Sport Confederation’s Exco.
He explained they took instructions from the government and are advising their members to adhere to the guidelines issued by government, but at the same time there are some administrative duties and functions they can still conduct.
For instance, boxers’ data needs to be collected, they need to be registered, Boxing WC has to advise districts regarding good governance in their organisations and they need to be in contact with boxers, officials, judges and referees.
Adv. Kwababana says they have been trying to communicate with the heads of their various commissions so that they can communicate better with the boxers. He says boxing was at the forefront of fighting Covid-19 and they are encouraging everyone to stay at home, wash their hands regularly and to go to the shops only when it was absolutely necessary.
Boxers and coaches are not going to gyms and they are trying to train at home. Officials are also implored to do whatever they need to do, but just at home until the Lockdown was over.
Boxing WC was awarded the right to host the national championships for elite and youth boxers and it is supposed to be taking place in Cape Town from 5-11 July. They are in regular contact with the relevant role players, such as the WCPSC, WC Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS), the SA National Defence Force, and the Department of Social Development.
Closer to the time they will also be starting the conversation with the Department of Health, as all boxers, officials and everybody else involved with the tournament would need screening and maybe testing.
Adv. Kwababana says they want this tournament to be a well-organised one and that is why they are working hard behind the screens to ensure they are ready if they do get the green light from the government to go ahead.
At the moment the boxers are following a training schedule that focuses on non-contact sessions. No coach will be holding pads and no boxer will be hitting pads held by a coach.
They can hit the punching bag at home, do individual physical workouts, shadow boxing, aerobic exercises, stretches – basically all types of exercises that are allowed under the current Lockdown regulations.
The president was aware that not all boxers are able to follow these training programs, as they live in cramp spaces where up to five people share one room. He said some of the boxers do not even have a cellular phone and thus are not able to receive programs via WhatsApp.
But he added now was the time to be innovative and he was optimistic that they will find a way to keep fit and strong. Adv. Kwababana was excited about the fact that Boxing WC’s website is under construction, with the help of the WCPSC. He left us with this encouraging message: People should not lose hope, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Fighting this virus requires all of us to be disciplined, which should come easy for boxers because our sport is all about discipline. Boxing is also about keeping safe at all times and that is why we need to be obeying the instructions given by our president.
