The 2009 National PAL Championships to be Contested October 19-24 in San Antonio, Texas

Nearly 600 of the nation's top amateur boxers are currently preparing for the 2009 National Police Athletic League Championships, October 19-24 at the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas. The unique event provides an opportunity for male, female and junior boxers as young as 11 to compete in one tournament. The 2009 event is on track to boast one of the largest turnouts in the history of the event with over 550 boxers currently pre-registered for the tournament. 

In addition, the 2009 National PAL Championships will be recognizing the United States military with all military personnel receiving free admission to the event and the championship belts being presented by Wounded Warriors from the Intrepid Center. The 2009 edition of the event is moving south to San Antonio after four straight years in Oxnard, Calif. 

Junior division action will be contested in the 11-12-year-old, 13-14-year-old, and 15-16-year-old age groups in both the male and female divisions. In addition, open division action will take place throughout the week with the winners earning an automatic berth into the 2010 USA Boxing National Championships. Preliminary round competition will begin on Monday, October 19 with two sessions a day scheduled to take place through Saturday when final round competition will be contested at 6 p.m. 

The 2009 National PAL Championships will be the first major national event since the IOC decision to allow women's boxing in the Olympic Games and will therefore be showcasing the new men's weight divisions. The 10 weight classes will now be: light flyweight (108 lbs), flyweight (114 lbs), bantamweight (123 lbs), lightweight (132 lbs), light welterweight (141 lbs), welterweight (152 lbs), middleweight (165 lbs), light heavyweight (178 lbs), heavyweight (201 lbs) and super heavyweight (201+ lbs).  

Tickets for the event are available for $5 for spectators ages 7-17, general admission tickets are $10 and ringside tickets are $20. A week-long pass can be purchased for $30 offering a significant discount on the full-price session tickets. Children seven and under and military personnel are free of charge. 

Registration for the event will take place on Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18 at the Municipal Auditorium and walk-in registration will be accepted. 

The National PAL Championships continuously showcases future Olympians and stars of the professional boxing world. Former PAL competitors Yory Boy Campas and Raul Martinez are expected to be on hand to take in the action during the week-long competition.

For further event details, click here.

 

USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States' member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). It is responsible for the selection and management of the United States Olympic Boxing Team, and for the governance and oversight of USA Boxing's national organization of 38,000 members, 1,400 individual boxing clubs, and 1,600 sanctioned events annually.