Boxing gloves (Photo by: Brian A. Jackson/iStock / Getty Images Plus)Boxing gloves (Photo by: Brian A. Jackson/iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Sarnia

Bluewater Boxing Club to host 2024 Elite and U23 National Championships

Bluewater Boxing Club will be hosting the 2024 Elite and U23 National Championships in the fall.

Top boxers from across the country will be in Sarnia from November 19 to 23.

Event Director Tom Hennessey said there will be two matches a day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

"We have a long history of hosting nationals, we haven't done it for quite a while and now to be chosen out of the list that applied this year is pretty neat," he said.

Hennesey hopes to have local boxers in the championships.

"We certainly have got four or five kids that have been competing on a regular basis that are provincially ranked," Hennesey said.

He explained those kids still have to win and qualify to be able to compete in the competition but the club believes they have what it takes.

It is estimated that 135 to 145 bouts will attend the event.

Hennessey said there will be a cost to attend but it is unclear how much that will be right now.

"We have to come up with a strategy for pricing and we'll be selling tables, as we always do for these events, plus we'll have floor seating and then we'll have seating in the bleachers if you will," he said.

New for the championship this year will be the induction of eight people in the Boxing Canada Hall of Fame.

"One of our own Jennifer Ogg who won the 2002 world championships for the Bluewater Boxing Club, she will be getting inducted into the Boxing Canada Hall of Fame," Hennessey said.

He also said Sarnia has a history of supporting amateur sports.

"Certainly the Bluewater Boxing Club has a lot of support in our community of sponsors that have traditionally sponsored every single time, so we're really excited to showcase this in the community," Hennessey said.

Tourism Sarnia-Lambton is partnering with the club for the event.

Hennessey said the organization was a huge help in getting this event.

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