Registered athletes

[Dennis]

In 2008, the Michigan Association registered well over 1,000 athletes once again. I believe the # was actually over 1,300. If every association would register 1,000+ athletes, the sport of amateur boxing would grow. Our gym alone probably registers about 200 boxers each year so it is not all about being in a huge city. Grand Rapids has about 200,000 people in the city. Our gym registers more athletes than any other gym in the state including the gyms in the city of Detroit. If each gym would register an average of 40 boxers each year, the LBC's number would increase to about 2,000+.

We should all strive to get more athletes involved in the sport. Once a person gets involved there is a very good chance they will become a lifelong fan of the sport.

[Kolya]

Good luck on that. In regions like the Rocky Mountain west that's near impossible. Just having 250 or 300 registered athletes would be big for us. Although my club has registered quite a few boxers this year.

[415BOXING]

HERE IN SAN FRANCISCO,I ORGANIZED FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW A SATURDAY WHERE I HAVE A DOCTOR AND OUR REGISTRATION CHAIRMAN COME TO OUR CLUB TO DO CHEAP PHYSICALS,REGISTER NEW ATHLETES AND DO RENEW BOOKS.LAST YEAR I DID IT AT OLD SCHOOL BOXING CLUB IN CONCORD,THIS YEAR I DID IT AT OUR CLUB,RING OF FIRE BOXING CLUB.THIS WORKS OUT FOR EVERYONE CAUSE ALOT OF THE ATHLETES CANNOT AFFORD THE MONEY FOR A PHYSICAL,SO THEY PROLONG GETTING ONE OR NEVER GET ONE AT ALL,SO WITH THE DOCTOR CHARGING REAL CHEAP FOR THESE PHYSICALS THE ATHLETES ARE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE,ALSO WITH OUR REGISTRATION CHAIR BEING THERE,THESE ATHLETES CAN RENEW THEIR BOOKS AT THE SAME TIME,JANUARY 10TH WHEN I ORGANIZED THIS,THE CHAIRMAN REGISTERED OVER 70 BOOKS,AND THEIR WERE ABOUT 20 ATHLETES THAT JUST GOT PHYSICALS

[Dennis]

HERE IN SAN FRANCISCO,I ORGANIZED FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW A SATURDAY WHERE I HAVE A DOCTOR AND OUR REGISTRATION CHAIRMAN COME TO OUR CLUB TO DO CHEAP PHYSICALS,REGISTER NEW ATHLETES AND DO RENEW BOOKS.LAST YEAR I DID IT AT OLD SCHOOL BOXING CLUB IN CONCORD,THIS YEAR I DID IT AT OUR CLUB,RING OF FIRE BOXING CLUB.THIS WORKS OUT FOR EVERYONE CAUSE ALOT OF THE ATHLETES CANNOT AFFORD THE MONEY FOR A PHYSICAL,SO THEY PROLONG GETTING ONE OR NEVER GET ONE AT ALL,SO WITH THE DOCTOR CHARGING REAL CHEAP FOR THESE PHYSICALS THE ATHLETES ARE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE,ALSO WITH OUR REGISTRATION CHAIR BEING THERE,THESE ATHLETES CAN RENEW THEIR BOOKS AT THE SAME TIME,JANUARY 10TH WHEN I ORGANIZED THIS,THE CHAIRMAN REGISTERED OVER 70 BOOKS,AND THEIR WERE ABOUT 20 ATHLETES THAT JUST GOT PHYSICALS

Well you have a jump start on what it will take next year when annual physicals become mandatory to be a registered athlete.
The rule states:
102.6(1)(g) NOTE: BEGINNING WITH THE 2010 REGISTRATION YEAR,
ANNUAL PHYSICALS WILL BE REQUIRED. A copy of the
physical report must be submitted along with the boxer’s
membership application form.

[boxmel]

Dennis - prior to the new rule, many LBC's have been requiring yearly physicals before registering. It's definitely going to be interesting to see how it impacts the SoCal Assn. We don't have "free" doctors.

[415BOXING]

Here in Northern Cal our LBC has require us to have an annual physical before an athlete can register,so it won't impact us at all.Now trying to get a free doctor is almost impossible,they all don't believe in helping the kids unfortunetly,everything is about money,and to get a doctor for a show here in Northern is so expensive,your talking about $200-$250 per show on the average

[Dennis]

You think that is bad. Try getting a doctor to testify at a deposition. They want $300.00 or more per hour with a minimum of at least $750.00 even if it only lasts 1 hour. Some want $500.00 per hour and a 3 hour minimum ($1,500.00). As an attorney, I understand the reasons they have to charge a fee to get reimbursed for their lost income. Some doctors do earn well in excess of $500.00 per hour for each hour they work. Even most GP's, Family Docs and Pediatricians need to earn at least $150.00 per hour to cover their expenses and still earn a modest living. You are asking them to donate their time when they could go to their office and see patients and earn at least $500.00. If you can find a doctor who is on a salary, then giving time isn't costing them money, it is just costing them their free time. Even then time still has a value.

[rmz]

I live in Michigan and while I've noticed we have gotten quite a few new registered boxers at the gym I go to, it seems the kids come for a little while and then leave. It's tough to get kids to stay at the gym. Boxing is tough sport I guess, I think a lot of the kids think they can come in and get to sparring and fights in a couple of weeks, but you have to train hard for a while before you get to do that stuff. I've seen a couple walk-in clinics in my area that charge $15 for a physical. I don't think that's too bad of a price.

[Dennis]

$15 for a physical is a bargain, especially if they do more than just check your pulse and blood pressure. Many places will do a decent sports physical for a little more say $30 or so. Many schools bring a doctor to the high school and charge about $10-20, but they will do 100 or more in one day. It ends up being profitable for the doctor and saves the athletes money.

[Kolya]

We're lucky in MT that both our State Doctor and the doctor who usually is at the shows in Helena are willing to donate their time for free; or maybe just a hotel room and meal if it's another city. Our doctor from Helena was an NG doctor, so I think he's used to working for not very much.

[Dennis]

At the end of last week, our gym had already registered 15 non-athlete and 60 athlete members of USA Boxing. I think we registered a couple of athletes this week, but I don't have the updated numbers yet. Our gym has been very crowded. We have been having about 40 boxers training and 5 or 6 coaches at the gym each night (for space reasons, we are lucky that not everyone comes every night). Last night we had 12 coaches who were mostly working one on one with various boxers. Our gym's workout area is only about 40 x 40 so you can imagine in gets crowded. We have a 15 or 16' ring (inside the ropes), 2 speed bags, 4 double-end bags, 6 heavy bags, a floor exercise mat area and an area for shadow boxing with mirrors.

We are looking at getting a new training facility and hopefully it will be larger with at least 2 rings.