It would be such a perfect fit with the 2015 Canada Winter Games (CWG), ideal for this city with all its rich history.
Ponder the note that boxing will be contested at the 2011 CWG, which is nearing commencement in Halifax. But it will not, stress WILL NOT, be part of the 2015 Games that are coming to your crime-free, pristine-air city.
Given the fact you can't walk around town without bumping into someone connected to this city's renown in boxing circles, that little tidbit is a bonafide knockout punch.
Think about the combination of Prince George and boxing. Harold Mann, Laurie Mann, heck just about anyone named Mann. Or anyone named Bayne, noting that the only father-son combination in the local Sports Hall of Fame involved Allan and his father Boyd. Beyond that there's the name of Sponagle, of Pegues, and so many others, synonymous with the sport. Most recently nationally-acclaimed punchers Kenny Lally and Jag Seehra made names for themselves, adding to Prince George's boxing tradition.
None of them will be part of the 2015 Games, not as athletes, coaches, officials or even spectators.
Why? Good question, but one we have an answer for.
It seems that the Canada Games folks have certain thresholds for sports to be included, and stay included, in our national festivals, be it the winter or summer edition. Boxing Canada, through missing details on gathering registration numbers, allowed the final figure to fall below the floor for participation and ended up outside the 2015 CWG ring, if you will.
Noted local boxing coach Bob Pegues, who works with national athletes for the Team B.C. program, can explain it further.
"(Boxing Canada) got the notice that we were short on numbers, and it turned out that Quebec was doing something registration-wise that was causing our numbers to look lower than they actually were," said Pegues, who just returned from the senior nationals in Quebec City, where this topic was debated with much sadness amongst boxing officials.
"Had those Quebec numbers been gathered and presented, we wouldn't have had any problems meeting the requirement for nation-wide participation. Quebec has the highest number of registrations in boxing."
Next time, you can be sure Quebec will send in registration forms.
The frustration for Boxing Canada is that Quebec is a traditional boxing powerhouse, playing a major role in the formation of Canadian contingents that compete in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and other major events.
When the 2015 Games were awarded to Prince George, and Pegues learned that boxing would not be on the list of events, he pushed to have the decision reconsidered.
No luck there.
"I was hoping our record of hosting major events, including nationals and Golden Gloves, would help us but an appeal wasn't even entertained," said Pegues.
"As the sport of boxing, we dropped the ball. It's too bad. We have such a phenomenal history and it would've been great. If there's a good thing, it woke everyone up across the country to make sure the registrations are done right and submitted."
Just not in time. Which, for that next potential Harold Mann or Allan Bayne, who will not get the chance to compete for a national title on home soil, is really too bad.
