Ireland's boxing championships get January date

The 2008 National Senior Championships will begin on Tuesday, January 8 and run over four days before concluding on Friday, January 11, at the National Stadium in Dublin.

The change in format for the Championships is to facilitate the Irish senior squads participation in the two final Olympic qualifiers for European boxers in February/March and April next year.

These qualifiers will take place from the February 24 to March 2 in Pescara, Italy, and April 7-14 in Athens, Greece.

A minimum of four and a maximum of six Olympic qualification places will be up for grabs in all weight categories for Europeans at these tournaments, meaning that a number of Irish boxers will have to reach the finals in their respective divisions to book their tickets for next years Olympics.

A semi-final finish may suffice in the weight categories that have six Olympics berths remaining. However, a last four finish in Pescara and Athens could mean that beaten semi finalists will have to box-off for a place in the Olympics.

While the changes in format for the National Senior Championships are designed to facilitate the Irish senior squad in their preparations for Pescara and Athens, one Irish boxer, light flyweight Paddy Barnes, who has already qualified for the 2008 Olympics, said that his immediate ambition is to successfully defend his Irish 48kg title at headquarters in January.

Twenty-one-year-old Barnes, from the Holy Family club in Belfast, booked his ticket for the Beijing 2008 Games by virtue of reaching the quarter finals at the recent AIBA World Championships and Olympic qualifiers at the University of Illinois in Athens.

The reigning Irish and Ulster senior champion, who has Gerry Storey in his corner at national level, admitted that it has not fully sunk in yet that he is an Irish Olympian.

He said: "My first priority is to successfully defend my Irish title in January and I think it is a great idea to run the Senior Championships over four days as that is the way international competitions are run.

"Because I qualified for the Olympics everyone will be trying to beat me at the nationals but I will be prepared for that and I am confident that I will do well in Dublin."

"It hasn't really fully sunk in yet that I will be boxing at the Olympics next year. It is a dream come true really and hopefully we can get a few more boxers qualified in Italy and Greece."

Meanwhile, the nine Olympic qualifying events which will complete the qualifying process for the 2008 Olympic Games have been confirmed.

Following the completion of the AIBA World Boxing Championships Chicago 2007, which featured as the opening qualifying event for Beijing earlier this month, athletes from each continent will have two more chances - except for Oceania where its Continental Championships will double as an Olympic qualifying event.