SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Team USA Boxing announced Thursday that the 2020 USA Boxing National Championships will now take place at the convention center in Shreveport, Louisiana December 5-12.
“Hurricane Laura wreaked havoc on the city of Lake Charles and rendered their Civic Center inhospitable for this year’s National Championships,” said Michael Campbell, USA Boxing Events and Operations Manager.
“This came on top of the pandemic which already nearly wiped out the 2020 National Tournament calendar. Our events staff immediately pivoted and was determined to replace the event with as little disruption as possible for our coaches and boxers that had been training with their goals fixed on participating in this event to end the year.”
“Shreveport stepped up quickly to provide us a great alternative within the same footprint as the planned event, therefore we could keep our same scheduled dates and remain in the great state of Louisiana,” Campbell continued.
“Shreveport will provide good accessibility, weather, and hospitality for our members and their Convention Center will be ideal for the implementation of our #BackToBoxing protocols that are designed to ensure the safety of our boxers, coaches, officials and members of the community.”
“Shreveport, Bossier City, and the State of Louisiana are proud to host the 2020 National Boxing Championships in December,” said Kelly Wells, Executive Director for the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission.
“Primarily, I would like to acknowledge my unwavering respect for Lake Charles and their investment in USA Boxing, which ultimately highlights Louisiana as a destination for national, elite sporting events. As they recover from the detrimental effects of Hurricane Laura, Shreveport-Bossier is excited to keep this event within our state, which is expected to bring an estimated $2 million in economic impact to the area.”
“We’re honored to welcome approximately 1,000 athletes to Shreveport-Bossier, as well as their coaches, friends, families and other boxing enthusiasts,” Wells added.
“On behalf of the Sports Commission team and Shreveport-Bossier community, I would like to thank the USA Boxing family for entrusting us with this incredible event, as well as Lt. Governor Nungesser, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Shreveport Convention Center, Hilton Shreveport and the local boxing community. We’ll deliver nothing less than world-class hospitality in sportsman’s paradise.”
USA Boxing says registration for the event will open Oct. 1. The fact sheet, which will include check-in information, hotels and schedule will be released in the coming days.
As a reminder, due to COVID-19 and being the sole USA Boxing tournament in 2020, this year’s National Championships will be an open tournament, with a minimum bout requirement, for pee-wee to elite divisions.
Boxers competing in Olympic/International Federation weight divisions in junior, youth and elite age groups will be competing for their place on Team USA’s High-Performance teams. Complete selection procedures will be announced in the next few weeks. More information about High Performance can be found here.
This year’s championships will also have other changes to help provide a safer and easier tournament experience for our members, including staggered check-in days, set late coaches check-in hours, no general weigh-in, as well as a quota for all weight classes. All important changes and information will be released here.
Continue to check USABoxing.org and USA Boxing’s social media platforms for important updates on this year’s tournament.
Tournament Information
- Venue: Shreveport Convention Center
- Registration Opens: Oct. 1
- Registration Closes: Nov. 30
- Early Check-in: Dec. 5
- Full Check-in: Dec. 6
- Staggered Check-in: Dec. 7-10
- First day of bouts: Dec. 7
