AIBA continued to embrace closer integration with all 200 of its
National Federation members this week, with President Dr Ching-Kuo
Wu meeting with the Caribbean NFs to discuss their ongoing
development and the signing of the HeadsUp Charter. Dr Wu watched
Saturday’s finals of the Caribbean Development Tournament before
leading a meeting of Caribbean NF Presidents on Sunday.

“The Caribbean has always produced excellent boxers and over the past few days I have seen
first-hand the current vitality of the sport, the new generation of talent and the huge potential here
for developing yet more great champions in the years to come. This competition is a perfect
example of how clusters of National Federations can work together to maximise their resources
and enhance their global boxing stature, and AIBA is fully committed to supporting this kind of
cooperation at every opportunity,” said Dr Ching-Kuo Wu at the tournament.

Region’s biggest boxing tournament returns
Barbados was hosting the second edition of the Caribbean Development Tournament since its
return from a ten-year hiatus, with 14 countries competing at the Men’s and Women’s Elite and
Male Youth and Junior levels. The hosts’ Kimberly Gittens showed once again why she is the best
female boxer in the region, earning the Light Welterweight (64kg) title against Virgin Islands’ Cindy
Claudio, but it was the Guyana team which best displayed its strength with eight golds overall,
including five in the Men’s Elite competition.

Cooperating towards a bright future in the Caribbean

Having reached membership of 200 National Federation earlier this year, AIBA is keenly pursuing a
more open dialogue with its NFs in order to better understand their individual needs and help them
to reach their goals. In his meeting with 24 Caribbean NFs, the Minister of Youth, Culture and
Sports for Barbados Mr Stephen Lashley, President of the Barbados Olympic Committee Mr Steve
Stoute and Mr James Marshall, Chairman of the Barbados Boxing Board of Control, the AIBA
President Dr Wu outlined practical solutions to help develop the region’s boxing. Specific short and
long-term goals in the realms of marketing, competitions and training courses will continue to be
underpinned by AIBA’s commitment to education and grassroots boxing through the HeadsUp
programme.