Women get their fighting chance

The first Irish amateur female boxing championships are on tonight. Alison Healy finds out why women are taking up the sport.

When some teenage girls are texting friends or watching Hollyoaks tonight, others will be pulling on their gloves and stepping into the ring in the National Stadium to make history. The first national championships for amateur female boxers are being held in the Dublin stadium this evening.

It's a select group, with just eight women competing in the four bouts but it is a milestone for the boxers, who were only allowed to take up the sport in 2001.

"It's early days for us and we have a long way to go," says Sadie Duffy, chairwoman of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association's women's boxing committee. "This is only our fourth year of boxing while Finland is having its 11th national championships."

More than 150 girls and women are involved in competitive boxing in Ireland, with up to 30 clubs providing coaching. Boxers have to be matched by weight and age so it can be difficult to match competitors, given the small pool of people competing at the moment.

Duffy is convinced that the sport will thrive as the championships are held and the word spreads. "It's still such a new idea here. There's the adrenalin rush, the excitement of knowing that you are still making history and breaking the mould. The sport is coming full circle at last."

With grants to upgrade clubs to provide mixed changing facilities, clubs have no excuse not to get women involved. "There will always be some who just don't want it, and I would never shove it down their throats but people should have the opportunity if they want it," she says.

Boxing is already one of the most criticised sports, but women's boxing faces even more public opprobrium. How do supporters deal with this? "I have nothing against Gaelic football or rugby or camogie, but you could sustain as serious an injury from them as you could from amateur boxing," she says. "They are all contact sports and are equally as physical."

In competition, women must wear the mandatory head guards, gum shields and sports bras. The chest protector is optional. Women's bouts consist of three two-minute rounds with a one-minute rest in between, while men go an extra round.

Michelle Brady and Caroline Reilly from the Cavan Amateur Boxing Club are competing in tonight's championships. Both 17, they say people are constantly surprised at their choice of sport. "Usually they don't believe me," says Michelle. "Or they think it's kick-boxing. They are sort of shocked."

Reilly adds: "Some of them say 'it's a bit strange for a girl, isn't it?' or they say 'why do you it when you could get hurt?' but I'm not really worried about that. We wear protective guards."

So why do they do it? "It's just an exciting sport," says Brady. "It's such a rush when you get into the ring. It's like nothing else. It's always a challenge."

Seán Reid frequently sees girls' heads peeping in the door of the Cabra Panthers' Boxing Club in Dublin, where he is senior coach and secretary. The box-office success of the film Million Dollar Baby is likely to increase the number of inquisitive heads at the door. The Oscar-nominated film tells the story of a waitress who fulfils a life-long ambition to become a boxer.

"We are continually getting girls coming in to see if they can box," Reid says. The club, which operates in part of St Finbar's Boys' National School, got a grant to provide separate changing and showering facilities for girls, but couldn't get permission to do the work at that time. He is hopeful that the club will soon be able to facilitate girls.

The high aerobic content of training appeals to women, he says. "It uses muscles all over the body. I had two girls in last week and that's what they were interested in."

The club has a proud tradition of women in boxing. It made history several years ago, when a Dominican nun qualified as a boxing coach with the club. Sister Liz Smith was involved in Cabra West Youth Services and often came in to watch the training. "She was very interested in helping out so she went away and did the training programme and qualified," recalls Seán Reid. "She was with us for three or four years but she went off to Brazil after that. She still calls in from time to time." Now Breda Flanagan is carrying the torch for women coaches in the club.

Reid agrees that some coaches and boxers have mixed feelings about women in the ring. "They say women could be injured more easily or might be pregnant and not know it. But you have women participating in other contact sports, so I think they should be allowed to pursue whatever sports they want to pursue."

Rachel Olohan (22) from Ballymun recently appeared at the door of the Cabra Panthers. She has decided to take up boxing for a number of reasons.

"It's a great way to keep fit," she says. "And it would make you feel safe when you are walking down the road at night, especially the way Dublin has gone lately. You might never need to use it, but it gives you confidence," she says. "And then there's the film [Million Dollar Baby]. So many women are getting into it when they see that."

She feels she might be coming to the sport a bit late in life - competitive boxing begins at 11 years old - "but it's getting to the stage where I really should be getting fit. I tried yoga and aerobics but found them tedious. With boxing, you are always trying to get better and better."

Olohan isn't concerned about the perceived dangers of the sport. "It looks a lot more dangerous than it really is," she says. "It's quite safe now, with all the gear. When you know how to box properly, it's not dangerous. You are going to get cuts and bruises in other sports anyway."

Three of her friends want to take up the sport too. "It's mostly for fitness but one or two say it's just to see the blokes," she laughs.

While Olohan is just fitting on the gloves for size, Katie Taylor's gloves are well-worn.

The 18-year-old Bray student is one of the top female amateur boxers in the country and made history with Alanna Audley from Belfast when the pair took part in the first female amateur bout after the sport was sanctioned in 2001.

Taylor and Audley are too advanced for tonight's championships and have to travel abroad to get contests with people at their level. Taylor took gold medals in Norway and Italy last year and also claimed the "best boxer" awards at both tournaments. She is now looking forward to the 4th European Championships in Tönsberg, Norway, this spring.

Her ultimate dream is to represent Ireland in the Olympics. Female boxing is not yet an Olympic sport, but is expected to be approved in time for the 2012 Olympics. Taylor will be ready and waiting, and if all goes well, she might turn professional. "There's not a lot of money in it yet, but maybe by then it will have improved," she says.

Taylor started boxing with St Fergal's Club in Bray when she was 12 and immediately loved it. That wasn't surprising as her father is a coach and her two brothers box. The bouts make for uncomfortable viewing for her mother, who is "very supportive but she gets very nervous".

For Taylor, the attraction of the sport lies in the ring. "When you get in there, it's one against one. You forget about everything around you. You can't hear a thing. I just love it."