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Women's Boxing

Until 1998 this Board did not licence women boxers, and indeed, had never received an application from one prior to an application received from Miss Jane Couch. Women however had applied for and have been granted licenses in other licence categories of the Board and there had never been a bar to them doing so. When Miss Couch made her application, the Board felt unable to consider it further at the time due, principally, to the physiological differences between males and females and the fact that there had been little or no research as to what additional dangers, if any, applied to women that did not apply to men. It will be appreciated that much of the Board's work in the last few decades has been aimed at limiting the risk to male participants in a sport that does carry inherent dangers, as with so many activities and recreations in which people choose to participate. It was not the Board's view that women should not box, but rather that, at the present time, we were ill-equipped to take on the responsibility for women's boxing. Women's boxing has been a factor virtually since the sport came into being during the 18th Century and, in the United States of America, there has been a degree of organisation with regard to this. However, it has remained a peripheral activity in this country. We had offered assistance to the fledgling Women's International Boxing Federation in order that they could be constituted to properly regulate, licence and control their sport but, regrettably, in practice this did not happen, although the WIBF still exists as a Championship organisation. As most people will probably be aware Miss Couch then brought a case against the British Boxing Board of Control before an Industrial Tribunal supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission, and won her case. The Board decided not to appeal and has now accepted the responsibility for licensing women boxers. The BBBoC has therefore brought into being certain amendments to Regulations and a preliminary medical protocol has been drawn up to try and exclude those women who may be at more risk than the norm (as we do with men). However, and undoubtedly the medical standards will progress as we learn more about any additional risks faced by women boxers. Miss Couch was the first lady boxer to be granted a licence by the Board but others have now followed and it will be necessary for this Board to continue to evolve proper vetting procedures to ensure that only those that meet the standards of competence, as well as medical fitness required, can be granted a licence, as is the case with male applicants.