Abstract
BackgroundIn 2013, the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) introduced a rule banning headgear for male-senior open class boxers during competition. The AIBA has defended the rule change as motivated by safety and supported by internal unpublished studies. As a result, in 2018, the AIBA plans to universally prohibit headgear in competition: for all competitors (male and female), all ages and all levels. Within Canada, this ruling has generated controversy in the boxing community, yet there has been no overall measure of opinion.MethodsTo address this, we instituted a voluntary, anonymous, online open-access poll to allow members of the boxing community to express their stance on headgear use in competition.ResultsIn total, 636 responses were received. A total of 71.5 % of Canadian respondents believed headgear should be mandatory at all levels. Only 5.8 % agreed that headgear should be prohibited, as planned for 2018. Estimating results on a representative breakdown of boxing membership in Canada, a similar pattern emerged, whereby 68.2 % concurred with mandatory headgear while only 4.95 % supported its prohibition. Parents of boxers were almost unanimously against banning headgear, stating they would change sports as a result. Similarly, only 1.7 % of women believed headgear should be prohibited.ConclusionsThe consensus of the Canadian boxing community largely opposes the rule changes that the AIBA has implemented. The results highlight risks posed to the long-term viability of the sport, if significant grassroots safety concerns are disregarded.
Highlights
In 2013, the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) introduced a rule banning headgear for male-senior open class boxers during competition
Along with a reduction in knockouts, this study found that headgear and computer scoring increased safety in all aspects of the sport [8]
In this study, we measured the support within the Canadian boxing community for headgear use in amateur boxing through a voluntary, open-access online poll
Summary
In 2013, the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) introduced a rule banning headgear for male-senior open class boxers during competition. The AIBA has defended the rule change as motivated by safety and supported by internal unpublished studies. In 2018, the AIBA plans to universally prohibit headgear in competition: for all competitors (male and female), all ages and all levels. In 2013, the international governing body for amateur boxing, the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA), ruled that elite men would no longer be permitted to wear headgear in competition [1]. In 2018, the AIBA plans to universally prohibit headgear from competition (see rule 20.1) [2], which would include all women and children in any competition at any level. An integral part of the controversy arises from conflicting arguments for the safety provided by headgear
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have