January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Boxers: 'we're on board with drug policy'
Group expects to make April 30 deadline to avoid being disbanded by government
Boxers: 'we're on board with drug policy'
This from James Marina, president of the Bermuda Amateur Boxing Association.
Boxing was one of four sports - archery, martial arts and target shooting were the other three - who were named in last Thursday's report by the Department of Sports for not being compliant.
Those sporting groups are currently ineligible to receive any funds from government or use any government facilities. Government said that as of April 30, any sporting groups who are not compliant would be stripped of national governing body status or, if it were individuals or groups within an organization causing a delay, they could be kicked out of their sport.
Whereas martial arts has some infighting holding back the process, Marina said the main problem was boxing was lagging on getting its paperwork in, but everyone in his organization was on board with the World Anti Doping Association's drug testing policies.
Marina added: "Oscar Lightbourne, our vice president, has been working diligently with the coaches and clubs to be compliant."
He added the only athlete they currently have who needs a 24/7 whereabouts form is talented young Nikki Bascome who harbours dreams of making the 2012 London Olympics.
"We're hoping to get another kid (to compete internationally), but the only one right now is Nikki," Marina said.
Teresa Perozzi would be another athlete who could be required to fill out the form, but the former world champ has been inactive since losing an unanimous decision to Natascha Ragosina in Germany on March 15, 2008.
Marina said "it wasn't ideal" for boxing to be behind in getting all the information in, but "everyone is working together with Oscar to make this happen."
He said the major holdback was "people not paying attention to requests to submit information. People, with their normal daily jobs and their busy lifestyles were making other sacrifices."
On Monday, April 5, BABA had a meeting with the Department of Sports.
Sports director Norbert Simons stressed "the magnitude of this situation. Should Bermuda be discovered as a country that is not compliant with WADA regulations, it would have a major impact on what Bermudian athletes can and cannot do worldwide."
He added that if one group wasn't compliant it could cause problems in Bermuda hosting events like the PGA Grand Slam, Gold Cup or the World Rugby Classic.
He said he was pleased at the progress boxing was making after missing two earlier deadlines.[[In-content Ad]]
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