After having to postpone the event earlier this month, the Red Wolf Boxing Club in Prince Albert will host a Silver Gloves boxing tournament early in the New Year.
The new dates are Jan. 7-8, 2023 at the Prince Albert Exhibition Centre. Bradock Koch, head coach at the Red Wolf Boxing Club, says rescheduling the tournament took coordination from several parties.
“I have several entities that are involved in this. That’s our club, my coaches and then there’s the Exhibition where we have the venue, they have to have a free date. Boxing Saskatchewan needs to have a free date that doesn’t conflict with other cards or tournaments. I have to keep an eye on dates in Alberta and Manitoba if they have a tournament going on. Boxing is not a huge sport, what we do is split the fighters from each other if we do that.”
The original dates of the tournament were set to be Oct. 8-9, but the tournament was postponed due to a lack of accredited boxing officials able to work the tournament. The majority of boxing officials in Saskatchewan are heavily concentrated in Regina and surrounding areas.
Before the event had to be rescheduled, out of province boxers from Alberta and Manitoba were expected to attend the tournament.
Koch says it’s great for the event to come to Prince Albert, as Saskatchewan has not hosted a lot of tournaments even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s not about the prestige, but the Silver Gloves is kind of a prestigious event. We haven’t held many tournaments for a long time, even well before COVID. For us to get the Silver Gloves here, it’s a big opportunity.”
Koch adds that Red Wolf hosting the tournament will affect more than just the boxing club.
“We’ve laid the groundwork, the venue is great. It’ll be a boost to our economy locally because they’ll be all kinds of people needing meals and rooms and everything that goes with it.”
