With the grand opening of the AIBA World Academy expected for September 2013, AIBA and the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation are pleased to announce that the project is right on schedule. The revolution in grassroots development, that will see boxers from all over the world use the state of the art facilities in the beautiful setting of the Soldatskoye Valley, at the footsteps of the mountains near Almaty, is moving at great pace.
The Soldatkoe Valley, situated at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level, is an extremely popular training and conditioning destination for athletes from Kazakhstan and its neighbouring countries. This idyllic setting and perfect location are some one of the principle reasons why the AIBA World Academy will soon be welcoming a whole new generation of champions there.
The area already holds National training facilities for ice-skating and athletics, as well as a Mountain Ski resort, outdoor facilities for horseback riding with stables, and a Golf course will soon be opened there too.
Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, AIBA President, who recently visited the Academy site and was impressed with the progress of the construction, said, “I am very happy with the progress being made and I am glad that the facilities will be fitted with the most modern technologies during its construction. This is very important”.
The construction contractors were selected and hired following a fare bidding process and the high-level of competition has guaranteed first class building quality. Despite complicated conditions with the Academy situated in a mountainous region, AIBA assures that the buildings will be more than able to sustain any weather as well as any seismic activity. The terrain is undulated and varies by 22 metres in height with an ablation depth of 8 meters. They had to reinforce the soil due to possible seismic activity and the foundations of the Academy are now resistant to any shifts as required by World Standards. Pure spring water will be sourced from underground. The water was tested and recognised as clean and of high quality.
The boxers, coaches and other visitors using the facilities will feel very comfortable, even during the cold Kazakhstan winters, with the AIBA Academy being installed with a highly advanced water heating system with its own boiler station. For the first two years, the Academy will use diesel fuel before switching to gas in early 2015, lowering energy costs.
By December 2012, the building structure will be in place so that during that winter the work on the internal decorations, electric cabling, sanitary-ware installations, floor covering and wall papers can go ahead. In May 2013, the finishing touches will be made with the final landscape work around the grounds (loaning, planting, constructing access roads, etc).
All will be in place for the big unveiling in September 2013 when Kazakhstan hosts the AIBA World Boxing Championships. AIBA will then invite all National Federations, AIBA Family Members and Kazakhstan’s highest officials to witness the opening ceremony of this high-tech, state of the art boxing training and education facility.
Article courtesy of www.aiba.org.
