The Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Boxing Road to Tokyo Olympic qualifying event in London has confirmed that the event will start as planned this weekend, following the latest advice provided by the Government and Public Health England on the Coronavirus situation.
The event, which will take place at the Copper Box Arena on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, features 13 members of the GB Boxing squad who will be competing to secure a place at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Following final entry checks, one minor change has been made to the competition schedule in the women's welterweight category (69kg) which will now conclude on Sunday March 22 rather than Tuesday March 24 as initially planned) with the final and final box-off.
A statement from the LOC said: 'Our approach to the Coronavirus situation is guided by the advice provided by Public Health England (PHE) and the latest information indicates that the competition is able to get underway this weekend.
'We are in regular contact with PHE and recognise that the situation may change, but as things stand we can confirm that the draw for the tournament will take place today and the tournament will get underway as planned on Saturday.
'The health and wellbeing of participants and spectators is of the utmost importance to us and all of the teams have been told to adopt regular handwashing. If any of their group begins to exhibit cold or flu symptoms they are advised to self-isolate, stay indoors, avoid contact with other people and contact the LOC's Chief Medical Officer who will be able to advise on their symptoms and any further medical assistance.
'We have also introduced a series of additional measures including routine temperature testing as part of the daily medicals for competing boxers which will provide us with additional data on the boxers and enable us to track and identity any changes.
'For spectators we have increased the provision of hand sanitisers and urge anyone that has a ticket, or is intending to attend the Boxing Road to Tokyo Olympic qualifier, to follow the Government's advice which is updated daily and is available at nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19.
The new, updated schedule can be viewed at boxingroadtotokyolondon.org/tickets.
The changes resulting from an earlier finish in the women's 69kg category mean:
-the round of 16 bouts will move from Tuesday 17 to the evening of Sunday 15.
-the quarter-finals, when four boxers will secure qualification to Tokyo, will now take place in the evening of Tuesday 17.
-the first round of the Box-Offs for the final qualification place will be in the evening of Friday 20.
-the semi-finals of the competition will be in the afternoon session of Sunday 21.
-The welterweight final and the final Box-Off to determine the fifth boxer to qualify in this weight class will both take place in the evening session on Sunday 22.
Boxing Road to Tokyo's ticketing partner, SeeTickets, will be in contact with all of the people that have bought tickets for the sessions where changes have been made.
Further information about the Boxing Road to Tokyo Qualifying event in London is atboxingroadtotokyolondon.org.
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