Lausanne, November 29th, 2018 – With two major events coming to a close, the International
Boxing Association (AIBA) is pleased to report that the changes and updates with regards to its
Refereeing and judging (R&Js) system and regulations are being positively received by athletes and
technical officials alike.
Since 2016, AIBA has fully revamped its R&Js management systems to foster a culture of
transparency and fair play, in and out of the boxing ring. The new system in place was tested for the
first time during the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina and yet again at the
recent 2019 AIBA Women’s World Championships in Delhi, India. PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC), the
leading audit firm in Switzerland was charged with the independent monitoring and reviewing during
the first implementation. PwC positively reviewed the new systems, indicating that the changes made
were good and producing the desired results. Highlighted changes include:
The return of having five judges’ scores a bout;
The removal of the President and Executive Director from the appointment and approval
process of Referee and Judges;
The development of a computerized draw system for appointing Referees and Judges to a
bout;
The appointment of an observer position into the Field of Play;
The increased number and quality of courses offered for training Referees and Judges;
The improvement of AIBA’s database so that Referees and Judges can be evaluated over time
as opposed to event by event.
Noteworthy, is the establishment of a protest system for Coaches and Athletes which has been
approved, tested and is set to be implemented in 2019 at the AIBA Men’s World Championships.
Tom Virgets, AIBA Executive Director, said: "AIBA is committed to safe-guarding the integrity of
boxing and its competitions on all levels. Collaborating with an independent audit team is just one of
the ways we are working hard to ensure we keep our sport clean and our competitions honest. Like
any other International Sport Federation, AIBA will continuously seek to improve its refereeing and
judging and will remain ever vigilant to the fact that we serve our athletes in the first place."
While the new systems have been successfully implemented and approved by the independent
organisation PwC and the IOC, AIBA is dedicated to continuously investing in new technologies to
further improve its refereeing and judging processes in the lead up to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and
beyond.
About AIBA
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) is the worldwide governing body for the sport of boxing
in all its form with a total of 203 Member Federations. AIBA works on behalf of all levels of boxing,
women and me, to reinvigorate the sport’s grass roots, develop youth and elite boxing and create new
opportunities for semi-pro and pro-boxers. AIBA’s vision for boxing also embraces and adheres to the
spirit and values of the Olympic Movement. With these values, AIBA ensures the highest levels of
transparent standards including for all global competitions, rankings, judging and boxers’
remuneration. AIBA is headquartered in the "Olympic Capital" Lausanne, Switzerland.
Contact:
Tom Virgets, AIBA Executive Director: tom.virgets@aiba.org
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