The decision by Boxing South Africa (BSA) to do away with COVID-19 testing before tournaments has been welcomed by at least two promoters.
BSA announced through a circular on Thursday that COVID-19 testing before tournaments had been suspended.
“The purpose of this circular is to inform all Boxing SA licensees on the suspension of COVID-19 testing requirement prior to a boxing tournament as of 02 February,” a BSA statement said on Thursday.
COVID-19 testing before each and every tournament was one of the mandatory requirements since the outbreak of the pandemic.
“In heeding the call and noting that boxing is a contact sport, Boxing SA continued to be strict on the testing of COVID-19 to ensure protection of all participants till the last tournament of 2022. This practice was meant to protect the health and safety of all participants during the tournament,” the BSA statement further said.
“Upon research, international benchmarks and recent developments with the medical and health fraternity, the meeting of the Medical Advisory Commission (MAC) held on 26 January 2023 recommended to the board to suspend the COVID-19 testing prior a boxing tournament. Licensees are still expected to take precautional measures and are encouraged to contact the medical practitioners on time if there might be symptoms of COVID-19 experienced.”
Zandile Malinga of Starline Promotions said: “It’s long overdue. We have been paying a lot of money as promoters. We’ve been complaining about this for some time, especially when all the tests were coming back negative.”
David Faas of David Productions agreed with Malinga saying: “I accept this announcement. We spent a lot of money on COVID-19 tests before our tournaments. We thank BSA for suspending COVID-19 testing.”
