USA Boxing and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee have awarded the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing to Lake Charles, Louisiana. Scheduled for Dec. 7-15, 2019, the trials will be held at the Lake Charles Civic Center, with the finals taking place at the Golden Nugget Lake Charles Hotel. In conjunction with the Trials, the 2019 USA Boxing National Championships will be held to determine USA Boxing’s junior and youth high performance teams for 2020.
The 13 boxers who win their Olympic weight-class will advance to next year’s Olympic Qualifying Events taking place January- May 2020 to box for their spot to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
“The 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing will be the culmination of what began last December,” said Mike McAtee, USA Boxing Executive Director. “This event will feature the 104 best boxers in the nation, boxing for 13 spots, as well as over 700 boxers that will be our future 2024 and 2028 Olympians.”
This December will mark the first time Lake Charles will hold the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing. The state of Louisiana has hosted numerous boxing events throughout the years, including the National Golden Gloves tournament in 2017.
“USA Boxing is tremendously excited to join with Lake Charles to bring the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing to the Gulf Coast,” stated USA Boxing Events Manager Michael Campbell. “The city’s warm hospitality and Southern charm, great people, climate and culture make for a perfect for our next generation of champions and give our boxers, coaches and officials a special experience.”
“Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana are honored to host the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials for Boxing and USA Boxing National Championships. Our destination is looking forward to showing these gifted athletes our unique brand of Southern Hospitality. The community is so excited to be part of history-in-the-making as this prestigious event will be the focus of sports fans this December,” said Kyle Edmiston, President/CEO of the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“This is my third Olympic Trials, and to have it in the state where I started boxing is very exciting,” stated 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials champion and 2019 Pan American Games silver medalists Virginia Fuchs. “I feel like I am bringing back all my success to where I started, in front of everyone who was with me from the very beginning. It’s truly something special.”
Tickets for the finals will go on sale to the general public in the coming weeks, with more information posted on usaboxing.org.
The local partners for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing are the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana CVB.
The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for all sports are a collaborative undertaking between the USOPC, National Governing Bodies and the local organizing committees.
Recent sites for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing include: 2016, Reno, Nevada, (men) and Memphis, Tennessee, (women); 2012, Mobile, Alabama, (men) and Spokane, Washington, (women); and 2008, Houston (men).
