USA Boxing National Championships June 20-25

[USAB Grassroots Committee Chair Robert Matney]

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – The USA Boxing National Championships,
amateur boxing’s premier national championship event, will return to
Colorado Springs, Colo., for the second straight year. The 2011 event,
which is being co-hosted by the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation
for the fourth time in the past six years, will be contested June
20-25. The event holds special importance in 2011 with the top four
boxers in each of the 13 Olympic weight divisions claiming a berth in
the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing.

“We are excited to bring the 2011 USA Boxing National Championships
and the nation’s top Olympic-style boxers to Colorado Springs in this
important Olympic qualifying year,” said USA Boxing Interim Executive
Director Anthony Bartkowski. “Our collaboration with the Colorado
Springs Sports Corporation has consistently showcased outstanding
results and we look forward to working with them again to put on a
first class event in June. It is fitting that the USA Boxing National
Championships will coincide with the national Olympic day celebration
as this tournament will showcase many of the top hopefuls for the 2012
Olympic Games in London.”

The six days of tournament action will feature over 300 of the
nation’s top male and female Olympic-style boxers, culminating in
final round action on June 25.

“The Colorado Springs Sports Corporation is proud to partner again
with USA Boxing to bring this premier event to the city and our superb
2011 calendar of events,” said Sports Corp President and CEO Tom
Osborne. “We will soon announce our plans for the gala June 25
Championship night at the City Auditorium, and we look forward to
another sellout crowd with something for all sports fans and families
to enjoy as they see our best boxers one year before the Olympic Games
in London.”

The first five days of competition will be contested at the Colorado
Springs Christian School with tournament action moving to the historic
City Auditorium for the Final Round bouts. With high stakes and the
best boxers in the country showcasing their skills, the 2011 USA
Boxing National Championships promises six full days of outstanding
Olympic-style boxing action. Preliminary competition will be contested
on Monday and Tuesday before the event moves into quarterfinal action
on Wednesday. Semifinal boxing will kick off on Thursday and the
consolation bouts will take place on Friday afternoon. The event will
conclude with championship round bouts on Saturday at the City
Auditorium.

The pre-Olympic year edition of the USA Boxing National Championships
consistently showcases future Olympians as evidenced by the fact that
five of the nine members of both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Teams won
gold at the event in the pre-Olympic years, including all three
Olympic medalists.

Local and regional qualifying tournaments are currently taking place
throughout the nation to determine the athletes that will represent
the 14 geographical regions and military squads.

The USA Boxing National Championships has a long history in the Pikes
Peak region with Colorado Springs hosting the event in 21 of the last
23 years with Las Vegas in 2002 and Denver in 2009 being the only
exceptions. The City Auditorium is a familiar venue for the event as
well as with 2011 marking the 10-year-anniversary of the last USA
Boxing National Championships held in the historic facility.