Olympics women's boxing skirts still undecided

Polish boxers wore skirts at the recent European Championships:

Amateur boxing chiefs are unlikely to make an announcement soon on whether female boxers will be made to wear skirts at the London Olympics.

The Amateur International Boxing Association (Aiba) met last week to make recommendations on the issue.

But Aiba say they "will not reveal the content of internal discussions".

The world governing body's president will now review the recommendations, with a final decision still expected to be weeks away.

The International Olympic Committee decided in 2009 to allow women's boxing into the Olympic schedule. The move followed a systematic review of its sports programme, which found men could compete in 164 events while women could only enter 124.

An Aiba spokesman said: "Aiba staff will now summarise all recommendations that were made. Those will then run by Aiba president and Aiba executive director before they are sent to the Aiba executive committee bureau."

Women's boxing will make its Olympic debut in London and the issue of making women wear skirts has already become a controversial one.

Aiba has previously asked women boxers to trial the skirts to help spectators distinguish them from men, but at the European Championships in October the only nations to do so were Poland and Romania.

Speaking at the European Championships, Ireland's three-time world champion Katie Taylor told BBC Sport: "I won't be wearing a mini-skirt. I don't even wear mini-skirts on a night out, so I definitely won't be wearing one in the ring."

But there has been support from some boxers, such as MC Mary Kom of India: "The tennis players wear skirts and the badminton players are wearing skirts so why don't the boxers wear skirts?"

An online petition against forcing women boxers to wear skirts currently has more than 54,000 signatures.

Aiba say they are aware of the campaign and insists they are considering everyone's opinion, including the wider public, and seeking a consensus.

Marianne Marston, who has backed the campaign, said: "I feel I have more important issues to deal with in women's boxing - the acceptance of women's boxing, acceptance of women in boxing gyms - than whether they should wear skirts or not.

"I think they (Aiba) are saying that women's sport won't get accepted or viewed unless women are feminine, and boxing is not necessarily a sport that attracts particularly a feminine attitude from the women that compete in it, and I think there should be a choice."

Meanwhile, boxer and kit designer Laura Saperstein Radio 4's Woman's Hour: "I prefer to wear a skirt because they are more comfortable. In my view there is a very good reason why men wear the kind of shorts that they do."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/16608826.stm

Set your watches, how long before we manage to make ourselves look like a bunch of sexist idiots?

I'm sure we can debate this in a sensible fashion.

I particularly liked the line "Aiba has previously asked women boxers to trial the skirts to help spectators distinguish them from men"

I think it was too late when we read the title thread.

Union Cane wrote:

Marianne Marston, who has backed the campaign, said: "I feel I have more important issues to deal with in women's boxing - the acceptance of women's boxing, acceptance of women in boxing gyms - than whether they should wear skirts or not.

Could not agree more with Ms Marston, a cretinous debate that should not even be happening.

rowley wrote:

Union Cane wrote:

Marianne Marston, who has backed the campaign, said: "I feel I have more important issues to deal with in women's boxing - the acceptance of women's boxing, acceptance of women in boxing gyms - than whether they should wear skirts or not.

Could not agree more with Ms Marston, a cretinous debate that should not even be happening.

Subtle. But sharp as a tack.

I appreciate the right for women to fight, but what do they get out of it. No money, an ugly face from the beatings and who really wants to go out with a hard lass. Nothing less attractive than a tough bird.

And they have to live with the knowledge that even if they win, they are still rubbish compared to men.

All sports should be unisex.

johnson2 wrote:I appreciate the right for women to fight, but what do they get out of it. No money, an ugly face from the beatings and who really wants to go out with a hard lass. Nothing less attractive than a tough bird.

And they have to live with the knowledge that even if they win, they are still rubbish compared to men.

All sports should be unisex.

Yeah - throw mud and jelly on them and then tell them to put their kniickers on and make me a cup of tea!

Do they have men in revealing outfits holding up cards stating what round it is?

Would probably be the only thing that could make me even less interested in womens boxing.

huw wrote:Do they have men in revealing outfits holding up cards stating what round it is?

Would probably be the only thing that could make me even less interested in womens boxing.

Denial, huw. It's a terrible thing.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

huw wrote:Do they have men in revealing outfits holding up cards stating what round it is?

Would probably be the only thing that could make me even less interested in womens boxing.

Denial, huw. It's a terrible thing.

You've got me Tino, I would just be frustrated when the men weren't announcing which round it was, why waste break up something so beautiful with something so barbaric as boxing.