England Boxing New Season 2018 Information

England Boxing New Season 2018 Information

On behalf of England Boxing, we would like to thank all the clubs, members and volunteers who helped support and contribute to the sport of amateur boxing in the clubs, regions and the many events and competitions throughout the country over the past twelve months.

Likewise, can we thank those who have provided feedback, views and thoughts that have enabled us to continue to improve the support that England Boxing provides.

As the season comes to a close we have 852 clubs and over 17,400 registered members all contributing to amateur boxing in this country and many more associated with our clubs and we look forward to welcoming even more next season.

There have been several changes this year, not least the launch of the strategy to develop and support the Clubs over the next four years, plus a concerted effort to improve communication and the offering to the members. This is a good start but there is a lot more to do and listed below is some information regarding what has occurred over the past twelve months and the plans for the new season.

New Season

The 2018/19 England Boxing season will begin on Friday 1 June 2018 and we’re excited by what the new season will bring, not only in terms of the activities that take place day in and day out in the clubs, but also all the community projects the clubs and members take part in and our ongoing improvement to our national competition and support.

The Vault/Registration

Please note that all current members will need to renew their membership on The Vault from 1 June 2018 in order to remain active members of England Boxing. You may notice that we have made some updates to the system, which are a result of the feedback we have received from members.

We are pleased to be able to confirm that the cost of membership for the forthcoming season has been frozen at £220 for a club £11 for a boxer and £22 for a coach or an official. This is the fifth year we have been able to keep the prices at this rate.

Here are just some of the updates to The Vault our members and clubs will notice from the start of the 2018/19 season:

• Matchmaker – Clubs will be able to match events and boxers will be able to view their boxing record on their member profile. The Matchmaker has been developed by a dedicated working party, including regional matchmakers, to ensure it meets the needs of clubs. The Matchmaker facility will be included in each club’s affiliation fee and will be available to all clubs registered on The Vault.
• Member/Club application – To become a member/club there will be a one-page application process rather than the current multiple page system. So hopefully this will be simpler to complete.
• ID card – Members who require a membership ID card will notice they will receive a new look ID card, which will have a larger picture and easy to read information.
• Shopping basket – Clubs will now be able to add existing members’ affiliation fees to their club’s shopping basket. This will enable a club to pay for its members in one transaction. We had lots of feedback suggesting this would help streamline the overall process for clubs.
• Medical database – Coming during the 2018/19 season – The module will allow doctors to record medical data after medicals and bouts. This will enable the medical subcommittee to collate much needed medical data for analysis.

General Data Protection

With the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming in to place from 25 May 2018, it is important that all members and clubs log in to their Vault profiles to confirm that they would like to continue to hear from England Boxing. The information you will receive will be relevant to your membership type, which includes, nutritional and important member information, access to photographs from events you have taken part in, kit offers and information regarding England Boxing events.

We have put together an information centre http://www.abae.co.uk/aba/index.cfm/about-us/general-data-protection/, which provides clubs with the relevant information in supporting with the implementation of the regulations.

Other initiatives and support undertaken are as follows:

Club Support Officers

With the support of Sport England, we have been able to appointment four new Club Support Officers (CSOs) making a total of nine, which means that we now have CSOs to cover all of the country and this is already having an impact in ensuring the clubs get support, especially with regards to accessing grants.

For the 6-month period of October 2017 – March 31^st, 2018, a total of 61 separate grants were recorded going to clubs, totalling £1,216,280, with 31 of the grants having a very strong influence from CSOs.

The CSO team are there for clubs to utilise and work with, they are here to support with grant applications, funding, premises, Vault support and overall day to day support. You will find the CSO contact details here http://www.abae.co.uk/aba/index.cfm/about-us/club-support-officers1/  Please make contact with them to see how they can help your club.

National Competitions

With the appointment of a new Competitions & Events Manager, England Boxing has been able to start to provide better delivery of the National Competition finals and we will carry on working with Regions and Clubs to deliver further improvements and more opportunity to compete and to continue to produce the national amateur champions of England at Schools, Juniors, Youth, Development and Elite levels.

England Boxing has also launched a Women’s Box Cup scheduled to take place in December 2018 as part of initiatives to get more women and girls involved in boxing. The competition will be supplemented by courses and seminars aimed at getting more women into coaching and officiating. We are also looking at introducing more inter-regional competitions.

As you will be aware the English Title Belts format is currently being reviewed, more details will follow with the updated format to give boxers a clear pathway and opportunity to compete for regional through to national belts.

Talent Programme

England Boxing had a record-breaking 2017, where 27 medals were won at major international events at all levels. Incredibly, 16 of these medals were gold! We would once again like to thank all the boxers, coaches, managers/administrators, Clubs, supporters and families who have helped contribute to this record year.

With the implementation of an updated and clearer pathway model that started in February, which features clearer entry and exit points and inductions for all boxers, the new system should hopefully see further success this year.

Education

The Level One Coaching Course has now been run by England Boxing for over a year and during the 2017/18 season, over 90 courses have taken place which means over 1800 new coaches have taken the course. Plans are now underway for the release of the revamped Level Two and Level Three courses in the 2018/19 season.

We have also started to review the content and delivery of the Officials courses.

The aim is to offer an extensive course range including training on nutrition, strength and conditioning etc, as part of the England Boxing Strategy which has committed to fully invest in the Boxing membership.

Website

We are pleased to be able to confirm, that England Boxing is redesigning its website to enable members and the public to have a clearer and easier journey to the information they require on amateur boxing.

We have worked to ensure it will have a fresh and modern look & feel and we hope that you find the new website easier to use. Plus, it should be mobile friendly!

We will also be including more imagery from our clubs and members so please continue to send in your stories, so we can share them across the site.

Club Finder

The England Boxing Club Finder has been made available on the England Boxing website. The Club Finder allows potential members to find clubs within the area with facilities to suit their needs and the ability to view session times. So please ensure your Club information is up to date when you register for the 2018/19 season.

Safe Guarding

We are pleased to say that the majority of our coaches have committed to ensuring they have completed a safeguarding course which plays a major role in ensure our juniors members are kept as safe as possible within our boxing Clubs and the boxing environment.

Rules

The introduction of the England Boxing Rule Book is a way to collate many of the rules and guidelines involved in putting on a bout, participating in training, preparation and competitions. We believe this book will bring greater clarity regarding the Rules to Boxers, Coaches and Officials and help to ensure that boxing continues to be conducted in a safe and regulated manner. To find a copy of the rule book you can visit the Knowledge Base on The Vault or find it here http://www.abae.co.uk/aba/index.cfm/linkservid/F4D9E442-92CE-7BD1-10B15B5279C70804/showMeta/0/

It is planned there will further updates and clarity of the rules, regulations in the forthcoming year which are all aimed at making the delivery of boxing as safe and clear as possible and remove any misunderstandings.

The ban on facial hair for boxers has also been removed and is being implemented from 1^st June 2018. England Boxing has made the decision to remove the rule at domestic level which forms part of its aims to fully embrace inclusivity in the sport. England Boxing will continue to lobby AIBA to get the rule changed at an international level.

We have also changed the Articles of Association, to allow those Clubs with one carded member to be able to vote and take part in the organisation’s decision-making process, thus bringing greater democracy to the membership.

We hope you will agree there have been improvements this year and we plan for more in the forthcoming season. Once again, we would like to thank all of our members for their contribution and support of amateur boxing in this country and we look forward to seeing you all in the 2018/19 season.