By Ron Lane
For Mark Evans owner/head coach of Cooroys Impact Armature Boxing Academy the year so far has definitely been one to remember. Early in the year at the Sunshine Coast Annual Federation Dinner and Presentation of Trophies he was named the Coach of the Year: now he has been named the Sports Cover Clubbies, Best Coach of the Year.
The voting was conducted Australia wide and coaches from all sports were nominated. “The presentation was conducted in Sydney,” said Mark “and I was happy to have my daughter Payton with me for the function. I would like to thank all those people who have assisted me both at the Academy and the tournaments we have attended. Thank you one and all.”
This year Darwin has once again stepped up to give total support to the Arafura Games. These games which are normally a bi-annual event were last held in 2011 and had lapsed because of lack of funding. But this year the Arafura Games were revived and well supported. Happy to say Queensland, amongst other sports had an amateur boxing team in attendance and with Mark Evans as head coach came home with 3 gold medals 3 silver and 3 bronze.
‘’The Games are a great event,’ said Evans. ‘’With 52 countries in attendance and covering all sports, it was bound to be a success and with some of the smaller countries attending (from around South Pacific Regions) it creates good opportunities for them to get international experience; and this is something that we are really struggling for.”
Last weekend all clubs in Queensland travelled to Brisbane for the state titles and once again they were an outstanding success for the Cooroy Impact Boxing Academy. “We took a team of six and five won a state title. With the five now being members of the Queensland team to represent the state at the National Titles it is the most ever selected from one club for the state team.”
Representing their club were; Taylah Robinson 51kg division, Indiana Hebloem 55 kg, Angie Harris 57 kg, Ella Boot 60kg, Spencer Parton and Kieran Whitehead 75.Well done to all.
The National Titles are to be contested in Melbourne, June 20th to the 24th with the winners then being eligible for selection to represent Australia at the World Championships (for both men and women) to be held in Russia in August; and two of the team Ella Boot, gold medalist at the Commonwealth Youth Games and Taylah Robinson, bronze medalist at the Commonwealth Games, are a good chance to make the Australian team. This will be the major lead up to the Olympic Games
Then in September a team of Australian fighters with Evans as Head Coach, will travel to Poland for another international tournament. “It is absolutely essential that we be prepared to travel to these tournaments,” said Evans. “With us (Australia) being so isolated this is the only way we can achieve international experience: if we are to give our fighters any chance at the Olympics– this we must be prepared to do.”
Apart from his success as a coach at the state titles Mark Evans has also been appointed Boxing Australia’s, Queensland Future Coach. This will see him coaching a team of 20 junior and youth athletes in preparation for World Youth and other future tournaments at international level.
