A group of four second-year students from Colorado's Law School have successfully represented a group of amateur elite boxers in the USA who will now be permitted to take place in a ''box-off'' later this month.
With the supervision of Boulder-based attorney, Paul Gross, and the University's Experiential Learning Director, Andy Hartman, the students represented Caroline ''Carrie'' Barry, an elite boxer who filed a grievance claiming that USA Boxing, the national governing association for Olympic-style amateur boxing, violated her rights, and the rights of others, when they altered their rules for sending contenders to the Pan-Am qualifiers.
According to the press release, nearly 80 boxers were affected by the rule change: 20 females and 60 males. The boxing association ran into trouble when, in December of 2010, they found their existing rules to be non-compliant with international rules. The international rules state that boxers may only qualify on an individual basis for the Olympic team throughout qualifying rounds. The USA's rules allotted contenders to qualify for spots on the team during qualifying rounds, with the organization choosing ultimately who would be on the roster.
Ultimately, however, the courts ruled that USA Boxing could not make the rule change, ruling in favor of Barry and her fellow boxers.
''It took guts for the athletes to pursue this case, but given their success in the ring, we were not surprised,'' Hartman said in a press release. ''This win, however, goes to the students - they made the opening and closing statements and examined most of the witnesses.''
