Boxing federation asks female boxers to wear skirts

[Liberal_in_LA]

Boxing federation asks female boxers to wear skirts

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At least that’s what Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) said when announcing that the organization is asking female boxers to wear skirts in the ring. “I’ve heard many times, people say, ‘We can’t tell the difference between the men and the women,’ especially on TV, since they’re in the same uniforms and wearing headgear.”

It seems that the very different body types, generally longer hair, and female names are not quite enough for some visually challenged fans to distinguish between the genders.

While the new uniforms are starting out as a trial run, Wu remained confident that it would soon become “compulsory.”

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Responses from women involved in the sport has been overwhelmingly negative. Three-time champion Katie Taylor said: “It’s a disgrace that they’re forcing some of the women to wear those miniskirts. We should be able to wear shorts, just like the men.”

http://blog.sfgate.com/hottopics/2011/10/28/million-dollar-bad-decision-boxing-federation-asks-female-boxers-to-wear-skirts/?tsp=1



Women's boxing has always divided opinion but now there are splits within the sport over suggestions that competitors should wear skirts.

The latest talking point is not whether women's boxing should become the newest Olympic discipline at London 2012, but what the boxers will actually wear when they compete.

During last year's World Championships, the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) presented competitors with skirts, rather than the usual shorts, which it wanted to "phase in for international competitions".

AIBA asked boxers to trial the skirts, which they said would allow spectators to distinguish them from men, but at last week's European Championships in Rotterdam only two nations - Poland and Romania - had taken on the alternative outfits.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/15452596.stm