AIBA EC member ready to work with Caribbean counterparts towards regional development

Nov 25, 2014 Sports

By Michael Benjamin
Following his historic election to the AIBA Executive Committee, President of the Guyana

Steve Ninvalle at the AIBA Congress in South Korea.

Boxing Association (GBA), Steve Ninvalle is optimistic that his newly acquired status will be advantageous towards the advancement of the sport in the region.
Mr. Ninvalle expressed this view at a recent interview with Kaieteur Sport when he returned to Guyana from the AIBA Congress in South Korea where several other Caribbean nations participated.
“It was an expression of unadulterated Caribbean Unity in South Korea,” said Ninvalle when asked of the quality of representation enjoyed by the region. Fifty percent representation of the Caribbean’s 22 territorial members attended the forum and Mr. Ninvalle, who initially vied for a Vice President position, wondered aloud of what might have been attained had there been an impeccable hundred percent turnout.
Those Caribbean countries that attended the forum included Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Bahamas, Grenada, Dominica, Cayman Islands, St Lucia, US Virgin Islands and Aruba.
Despite the small turn out the regional territories were able to accomplish the mission in a scenario likened to the biblical battle between David and Goliath.
Ninvalle, who became the first person from the English speaking Caribbean to be elected an AIBA Executive Committee member, said that the regional representatives would have been able to make a more resounding statement had they enjoyed full representation from other regional outfits.
He cited several reasons for these absences and resolved to address them in the coming months. Consequently, the Caribbean affiliates huddled shortly after the Congress in South Korea and resolved to ‘awake’ the other members of the other territorial associations that were not at the forum.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ninvalle feels that his position now gives the region a voice within the top echelons of the sport. He said that whereas in the past the region were hampered by a smooth communicational channel to relay its grouses, concerns and other issues to the ruling body, his position now allows for more direct contact. “This is not only historic but a big plus for the Caribbean region since all concerns will now be directly addressed at the level of the (AIBA) executive body,” explained Ninvalle.
He views the direct link as critical to the development of the sport in the region and disclosed that representatives of the various Caribbean associations will meet shortly to discuss the way forward including the possible resuscitation of a body to monitor boxing in the Caribbean.
The Caribbean Presidents’ meeting was last convened in Barbados in June and it was at this meeting that Ninvalle was nominated for the AIBA post. He said that the regional executives are currently contemplating a date for the next meeting which would address critical matters towards the development of the sport in the region.
Mr. Ninvalle further said that his feat was the cause for much rejoicing and this was justified since it was a long, hard struggle that was eventually won. “This has triggered resurged energy in the Caribbean and the region is still rejoicing,” proclaimed Ninvalle.
Meanwhile, AIBA President, Ching-Kuo Wu, congratulated Ninvalle and expressed the desire to work with him to improve the sport even as he noted the stringent efforts of executives of Guyana and the Caribbean. The AIBA President feels that Ninvalle’s election is in recognition of his unshakable devotion to the development of boxing followed by the exceptional results achieved by Caribbean countries over the past years.