Over the past year, restrictions have been placed on many of the clubs at Shippensburg University due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The university has established guidelines for these clubs to have some in-person interactions on campus. Many clubs have been forced to change the way they interact to meet these guidelines.
One of the clubs that has been affected by this is the SU boxing club.
The SU boxing club was hit hard during the pandemic, having to adapt to the protocols. They were forced to move their practices outside and are not permitted to make any contact with each other while following the 6 feet social distancing rule.
The practices have been very limited in terms of what the team can and can’t do and how many people are allowed to attend the club's training sessions. The club has only been allowed to have a few people practice at a time.
“Boxing is a very engaging sport, and we can’t do as much as we used to,” SU boxing club president Zy Medlock said.
According to Medlock, the practices have mainly consisted of running and basic calisthenic exercises (pushups and sit-ups).
In terms of restrictions, Medlock said the club has had multiple meetings with university officials in hopes of figuring out a way to have contact practices. With the topic of contact practices, theres always the concern of a possible spread of the virus within the club itself. To figure out a way to work around that threat would not be easy.
Due to the current restrictions for club sports teams, it does not look like the club is going to compete in any tournaments any time soon. Clubs have not been allowed to travel to non-essential events, which includes tournaments.
Before the campus shut down in spring 2020, the boxing club had competed in two tournaments.
Medlock said they competed in the Arthur Mercanti National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) Invitation in November, and the West Point Invitational in December. The club saw a lot of success in these kinds of events in previous years.
In spring 2019, the boxing club had multiple athletes compete in the Boxing National Championships, including freshman Ziad Ahmed. He placed first in his weight class. The club is looking to continue this kind of success once it is safe to compete again.
Despite the restrictions, the boxing club is hoping to return to the gym and start competing again soon.
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