‘King’ James Beckles arrives for boxing workshop

Nov 23, 2015 Sports

Top Caribbean Boxing Referee/Judge, Trinidadian ‘King’ James Beckles arrived in Guyana Saturday night and will today commence a workshop for local and regional amateur boxing officials. The workshop is scheduled to ‘punch off’ at the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis gym at 1 pm this afternoon and will run until Wednesday.

James Beckles (right) and GABA president Steve Ninvalle at the Water Chris Hotel yesterday.

It was organized the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association to whip regional officials into shape for the four-day Caribbean Development Boxing Tournament which starts here on Thursday.
Beckles came armed with a mandate from world governing body AIBA to make the ‘Heads Up’ programme a priority during the course of the workshop which would be attended by approximately over 35 referee/judges from the Caribbean here for the event.
The Heads Up is a global programme developed by AIBA to promote the values of boxing and the global AIBA family. The objective is to foster AIBA’s initiatives to promote the development and growth of boxing at a national and international level. Its aim is to change the perception of boxing to ensure that the positive aspects of the sport including the discipline, training and sense of self that it imbues in all participants.
Heads Up is also a warning given to the boxers to keep their heads up while they compete. It is a way of life, wherein people are told to think what they are doing and whether it is the right thing. The Trinidadian, who is an AIBA Three Star and World Series Boxing (WSB) referee, would also be grading officials.
Regional officials are expected to join locals at the workshop from tomorrow. Chairperson of the GABA Referee/Judges Commission Ramona Agard yesterday welcomed Beckles’ visit to Guyana. Agard noted that AIBA Technical Rules are being constantly changed and locals need to be stay abreast.
She urged all interested persons to make a special effort to attend.