After mounting its first showcase last year, Georgetown Club Boxing is channeling its past success to truly establish itself as one of the more unique club sports on campus by holding the second Annual Blue & Grey Gloves boxing showcase on March 29 at Yates Field House.
Two years ago when the event was in its infancy, the boxing team originally encountered an administrative issue prior to its first showcase.
“Georgetown wouldn’t give permission because of liabilities. So I worked all on it my freshman year and then sophomore year — last year — we made it happen,” Georgetown Club Boxing President Adan Gonzalez (COL ’15) said.
With no major injuries last year, the administration was less wary when giving permission for this year.
“It’s been a lot easier, especially because last year there were no big issues that occurred. So I think it’s just building off of last year’s success and the administration seeing that it’s not a liability … that they’ve allowed us to do it again and hopefully continue to do it,” Club Boxing Vice President Vania Silva (COL ’16) said.
The experience the club gained from last year’s event made preparation for this year occur without any major setback.
“It’s a lot stronger, so much more organized. We didn’t have trouble getting permission from the school. We had coaches from other schools asking us to come and participate,” Gonzalez said.
Last year’s event, which attracted around 300 people, additionally gave the team a better idea of the expectations, which helped with preparation.
“It was our first showcase last year. Throughout the year we weren’t exactly sure if it was actually going to happen, how it was going to turn out. Now that we have last year to look back on, we have some sort of expectation of what it’s going to look like, which actually just adds to the excitement and a little bit of the anxiety,” team member Jeff Wong (MSB ’16) said.
Through the event, the team hopes to build recognition for the club, as many students are still unaware of its existence.
“I feel that this is kind of one of the few times where people on campus really get to hear that there is a Georgetown boxing team, because that’s something, especially last year, I would tell people, ‘Oh yeah I’m on the club boxing team’ and they were like, ‘What, we have a boxing team?’” Silva said.
Although last year’s event made a small, yet noticeable, impact on the club’s recognition, the team hopes to use the annual nature of the event to further cement the group’s place on campus.
“I think last year’s showcase brought some awareness, but I still feel that there [are] a lot of people that don’t really realize that there is a boxing team,” Silva said. “So I think that though last year was a good start and something good to build off of, we still need to keep up promotion and continue on, on this yearly showcase, kind of, so that in … a couple years from now, there is no doubt that we have a boxing club.”
For the fighters, the event also serves as an exciting opportunity to showcase their skills they worked on throughout the year.
“It means a lot for our team. It’s this idea that all those miles on the bike, miles outside to the monuments, running in the snow, running in the rain, those long rounds jumping rope, shadow boxing, taking blows to the face, to the gut, all to make Georgetown understand not just that we are here, but that we are making you proud,” Gonzalez said. “You work all year perfecting your skills and then all of a sudden you can show them off at the Hilltop.”
The team will also be giving one competitor the Tom Quinn Outstanding Senior Award, named in honor of the late Yates trainer and NCAA Eastern heavyweight boxing champion Tom Quinn (CAS ’55), who died in January.
The boxing showcase, which starts at 3 p.m., will include fighters from various universities, including West Point, the University of Maryland, Virginia Military Institute, Wake Forest University, East Carolina University and Baltimore University. There will be 14 matches, with six females and eight males representing Georgetown.
