1994 Commonwealth Games - Boxing Committee

Boxing Committee

In preparation for 1994 Commonwealth Games, a boxing committee was formed in 1989. The chairperson of the boxing committee was Hassan Sunderani, and the initial members were Brian Zelley, Glyn Jones and Mike Sartori.

In the initial stages, of the committee one of the immediate tasks was to prepare a guide as to what was expected at the Games, and to document some history of amateur boxing in the Greater Victoria area. The primary work was done by chairperson Sunderani while the local boxing history was assigned to committee member Zelley, a previous news editor for the British Columbia Amateur Boxing Association in the mid-1980s and a contributor of boxing news to various news outlets in the 1970s and 80s.

The next order of business was to start the process of organizing volunteers. The first formal public meeting to begin this process took place in Victoria in the boardroom of the Victoria Commonwealth Games Society April 21, 1990. The meeting included three of the committee members, a VCHS official, and seven potential volunteers including two former Vancouver Island Amateur Boxing commissioners – Bert Wilkinson and Rick Brough.

The primary decision was to arrange a bigger meeting and consider reviving the Greater Victoria Amateur Boxing Association on a formal or informal basis and to have former experienced persons with some background in the sport of amateur boxing. That meeting took place on May 13, 1990 with twenty three persons in attendance and was listed as the "Greater Victoria Amateur Boxing Association Founding Meeting", and took place at the Princess Mary Restaurant. This would become an important meeting to begin the real work in preparation of volunteers; having a representative attend the 1990 Seattle Goodwill Games to observe; and plan and prepare for a test event in 1993. Preliminary coverage of the May 13th meeting included a piece a couple of days earlier titled Approaching Games to lift amateur boxing's profile.. The reporter Jeff Rud interviewed Games official John Stothart and boxing committee members Mike Sartori and Brian Zelley.