Boxing's finest bid for GB spot at inaugural women's camp

Liverpool’s Natasha Jonas was amongst a group of 23 boxers from England, Scotland and Wales bidding for a place in the national squad at the first ever GB women’s assessment camp.

Natasha attended the inaugural selection programme at the English Institute of Sport (EIS Sheffield) - part of a three phase process to find the best female boxers to compete at three weight categories for the GB Boxing squad ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

During the weekend camp, boxers completed a range of sessions including nutrition, strength testing, skipping, pad work, sparring and conditioning.

They were assessed on ring craft, tactics, balance, repertoire and motivation to win muscular endurance and also received video feedback from coaches on international styles and technique.

Thirteen boxers will be selected from the camp for the next round of assessments at EIS Sheffield. Four open days will also be held in England, Scotland and Wales for carded female boxers before the final squad of nine is selected.

EIS Sheffield is home to the sport’s governing body, the British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA), which is the lead body responsible for the development of Britain’s elite boxers ahead of the London 2012.

Rob McCracken, GB Boxing Performance Director, said: “The women at the assessment camp were those already known to the home nation coaches so the standard of boxing and professionalism was incredibly impressive.

“The set-up at EIS Sheffield is fantastic and the boxers were really inspired by the world-class facilities, technology and sports science services.”

Women's boxing is the newest Olympic sport after it was included in the 2012 Games reflecting its growing popularity.

Rob added: “Elite and grassroots participation has soared in recent years but particularly since the inclusion of women’s boxing in the 2012 Olympics with a quarter of the 149,000 boxing participants in the country now women.

“This camp was another major step forward for the sport and demonstrated just how far we have come in a short space of time. There are some tremendously talented female boxers out there and it will be a tough job picking just nine for the GB squad.”