Boxing

Amateur Boxing started in Canada in 1892 with the incorporation of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. It was also practiced in the armed forces, in the tradition of the British army regimental championships. Amateur boxing did not really come to prominence in Canada until six Canadian boxers attended the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, and returned with 5 medals, one gold, two silver and two bronze. Prior to 1969, amateur boxing in Canada was under the supervision and coordination by officers of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada. With its authority it controlled the amateur status of athletes and officials. It was also represented on the Canadian Olympic Association and the Commonwealth Games Association. In 1968, AAU of Canada was dissolved.

The Canadian Amateur Boxing Association was founded and incorporated under Federal Charter in 1969. The newly formed Association stressed the complete separation and distinction from professional boxing. Priorities were the uniform enforcement of rules, with emphasis on safety and enhancement of competitions, the creation of a formal structure, and the development of officials to the highest national and international standards. Decentralization of jurisdiction eventually led to the creation of Branches, the forerunners of the current Provincial/Territorial Associations. Participation in Amateur Boxing increased by 600 percent over the first 4 years of CABA, with its membership reaching 2,175 in 1973.

In 1976, having overextended its resources in preparation for the 1976 Olympic Games, CABA found itself in serious financial difficulties, and lost Federal Government support as well as its head office and all its staff. However the sport continued to grow through the Provincial/Territorial Organizations which received greater autonomy, and whose presidents became directors of CABA. In 1977, CABA reorganized, and a volunteer executive successfully worked towards solvency, while at the same time developing and expanding programs to build new strength at all levels of Canadian Amateur Boxing, and particularly in the area of coaching development and international competitions. Canadian boxers finished first in the 1978 Commonwealth Games with 8 medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze), and by 1980 membership exceeded 4,000. CABA became re-accepted by Fitness and Amateur Sport Canada, and received funding again for a head office and staff.

The death of a professional boxer in Montreal in 1980 led to the Federal Government's Task Force on Boxing in Canada which, while highly critical of professional boxing, gave Amateur Boxing full credit for its exemplary record of safety. CABA received a clean bill of health and initiated a competitors record and medical passport system, uniformly enforced for all amateur boxers in Canada, computerized registration, and strengthened its resolve to maintain its exemplary safety record.

"First-in-the-World" Accomplishments by the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association:

• 1970/71 - Canada became the first country in the world to develop stringent medical and safety standards for amateur boxing, and making the wearing of headguards mandatory for all amateur boxing competitors. (The head guard rule was adopted in USA and internationally only in 1984, 13 years later!)
• 1981 - Canada was one of the first countries in the world to implement a Competitors Record and Medical Passport for all amateur boxing competitors.
• 1990 - Canada was the first country in the world to make computerized scoring compulsory for all National competitions, and to publish a users manual. (This gave Canadian competitors, coaches and officials a big advantage internationally, where computerized scoring became compulsory in 1991).
• 1991 - Canada became the first country in North America, and one of the first countries in the world, to sanction amateur boxing competitions between females, and to develop a nationwide female boxing program under modified CABA rules, including National Championships (since 1995) that include females, and a Female National Boxing Team representing Canada internationally.
• 1996 - Canada became the first National Amateur Boxing Association in the world with its own, continuously up-dated, Internet web site: www.boxing.ca (Visit Boxing B.C. at : www.boxing.bc.ca )