Sport

Boxing body seeks to calm skirt controversy

10:57 am on 5 November 2011

Amateur boxing's governing body will sound out competitors and the public before deciding whether women should wear skirts instead of shorts in the ring at next year's London Olympics.

AIBA spokesman Sebastien Gillot says the world body had never suggested skirts should be compulsory and the association was surprised at the way a clothing controversy had snowballed in the last week.

Several women boxers have criticised attempts to encourage them to wear skirts for what seemed to be purely aesthetic reasons.

Women's boxing will be making its Olympic debut in London next year with three gold medals available.

The women were offered skirts for the first time at the world championships in Barbados last year.

The BBC said that at last year's European women's championships in Romania only Poland and Romania used skirts, the former designing their own and making them compulsory.