Written by: Abby Ray
During October 7th – 13th Chattanooga hosted the 2018 Eastern Elite Qualifier and Regional Boxing Championships. The event was held at the Chattanooga Convention Center and had the largest turnout in national tournament history according to TeamUSA.org. Chattanooga has hosted the Eastern Elite Qualifiers two consecutive years since 2017.
“After check-in and general weigh-in, a total of 834 boxers and 550 boxers will take part in the weeklong national tournament at the Chattanooga Convention Center,” from TeamUSA.org. Due to the large amount of boxers, a 5th ring was added to accommodate the amount of participants.
The tournament had Elite, Youth, Junior, Intermediate, Bantam, and PeeWee divisions. Elite Boxers must be 18 years old and have at least 5 years of experience under their belt. The rest of the divisions have boxers who are 17 years old to just 8 years old. The tournament also had female and male boxing divisions.
In order to ensure the boxers safety, ring side physicians are present during every bout. The physicians follow concussion protocol and are aware of the early signs of one. Dr. Armando Sanchez was the lead physician at the Qualifiers.
The winning boxers from the Eastern Elite Qualifier and Regional Boxing Championships are one step closer to qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Concussions in Boxing:
Written by: Ayriel Ayers
Webster’s definition of a concussion is an injury to the brain that results in temporary loss of normal brain function. Concussions in the Chattanooga area are a prominent issue in today’s sports realm. According to NATA Journals, Men’s boxing has one of the highest rates of concussions, with a 34% rate out of every 1,000 players, according to wiki statistics.How do you recognize the signs of concussion in a young athlete? To begin, a concussion does not have to be a result of a blow to the head with “blacking out” occurring. Concussions can occur with shaking or rapid head movements and more often than not leave the athlete fully conscious.
“The Brain is the brain. Concussions don’t change. Boxing isn’t the worst sport, but it’s more acceptable to gaining a concussion. the boxers are in a sport that can potentially give them a concussions,” Dr. Armando, boxing medical specialist gives us a more professional insight on boxing with concussions. Armando said,“you want to attack the issue way before it happens, limit those chances of a concussion, anytime you feel there could potentially be something wrong, get it checked out.”
Boxing is a form of fighting, which according to Dr.Armando is “Human Nature” the fighting wont stop, but preventing concussions is possible.
About the Storytellers
Abby Ray
Abby Ray, a senior at UTC studying Communications and Business Administration, is from Memphis, Tennessee. She currently works as an intern at Delegator, which is a digital advertising agency in Chattanooga. A few of Ray’s passions are working out, watching the Memphis Grizzlies and scrolling through twitter.
Elian Richter
Elian Richter is an climbing instructor and action photographer. Elian works at High Point Climbing gym as a certified instructor and as a backup photographer. He now combines the skills learned from climbing with the skills he’s acquired in photography to do photo shoots for climbers and outdoors enthusiasts.
Ayriel Ayers
Ayriel Ayers is a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She’s skilled in photography, human development, and public relations. As the NAACP President, Resident Assistant for UTC housing, and a Community Service and Membership Development Chairwoman for her sorority, her leadership and positivity characteristics continually pointed her to success.
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