(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – The large Icelandic volcano, which has crippled travel throughout the world, has caused the United States team to withdraw from the upcoming 2010 AIBA Youth World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. The safety and security of its athletes is always the first priority of USA Boxing, and the U.S. squad will therefore be unable to travel to Azerbaijan.
“While this is a very important competition and our staff is very disappointed for our athletes, the continued uncertainty of the volcano's impact on air travel, both domestically and internationally, made the decision to cancel our team's entry into the tournament the right decision,” Interim Executive Director Mike Martino said. “I can only imagine what problems this natural disaster would have created had it occurred two years from now, during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.”
The volcano has disrupted major international events throughout the globe both in and out of the sports world. As a result of the major natural disaster, AIBA has chosen to delay the start the event to April 25, but USA Boxing has been advised by knowledgeable travel personnel that it is unlikely the team will arrive in Baku and return to the United States in a timely fashion. Therefore, USA Boxing believes the most responsible decision for the security of the U.S. team is to avoid travel through the affected area.
The ten U.S. boxers scheduled to compete in the 2010 Youth World Championships were light flyweight Carlos Suarez (Lima, Ohio), flyweight Emmanuel Folly (Philadelphia, Pa.), bantamweight Emonte Scruggs (Dayton, Ohio), featherweight Luis Feliciano (Milwaukee, Wis.), lightweight Ryan Martin (Chattanooga, Tenn.), light welterweight George Rincon (Carrollton, Texas), welterweight Alantez Fox (Forrestville, Md.), middleweight D’Mitrius Ballard (Temple Hills, Md.), light heavyweight Jerry Odom (Bowie, Md.), and heavyweight Joshua Temple (St. Louis, Mo.). All of the boxers earned their sports on the Youth World Championships Team with victories at the 2010 Under-19 National Championships.
USA Boxing would like to thank AIBA and the event organizing committee for their understanding of this very difficult decision, and wishes all of the participants good luck in the tournament
