(FEB 8 )COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – The USA Boxing National Championships, amateur boxing’s premier national championship event, will return to Colorado Springs, Colo., for the second straight year. The 2011 event, which is being co-hosted by the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation for the fourth time in the past six years, will be contested June 20-25. The event holds special importance in 2011 with the top four boxers in each of the 13 Olympic weight divisions claiming a berth in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing.

“We are excited to bring the 2011 USA Boxing National Championships and the nation’s top Olympic-style boxers to Colorado Springs in this important Olympic qualifying year,” said USA Boxing Interim Executive Director Anthony Bartkowski. “Our collaboration with the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation has consistently showcased outstanding results and we look forward to working with them again to put on a first class event in June. It is fitting that the USA Boxing National Championships will coincide with the national Olympic day celebration as this tournament will showcase many of the top hopefuls for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.”

The six days of tournament action will feature over 300 of the nation’s top male and female Olympic-style boxers, culminating in final round action on June 25.

“The Colorado Springs Sports Corporation is proud to partner again with USA Boxing to bring this premier event to the city and our superb 2011 calendar of events,” said Sports Corp President and CEO Tom Osborne. “We will soon announce our plans for the gala June 25 Championship night at the City Auditorium, and we look forward to another sellout crowd with something for all sports fans and families to enjoy as they see our best boxers one year before the Olympic Games in London.”

The first five days of competition will be contested at the Colorado Springs Christian School with tournament action moving to the historic City Auditorium for the Final Round bouts. With high stakes and the best boxers in the country showcasing their skills, the 2011 USA Boxing National Championships promises six full days of outstanding Olympic-style boxing action. Preliminary competition will be contested on Monday and Tuesday before the event moves into quarterfinal action on Wednesday. Semifinal boxing will kick off on Thursday and the consolation bouts will take place on Friday afternoon. The event will conclude with championship round bouts on Saturday at the City Auditorium.

The pre-Olympic year edition of the USA Boxing National Championships consistently showcases future Olympians as evidenced by the fact that five of the nine members of both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Teams won gold at the event in the pre-Olympic years, including all three Olympic medalists.

Local and regional qualifying tournaments are currently taking place throughout the nation to determine the athletes that will represent the 14 geographical regions and military squads.

The USA Boxing National Championships has a long history in the Pikes Peak region with Colorado Springs hosting the event in 21 of the last 23 years with Las Vegas in 2002 and Denver in 2009 being the only exceptions. The City Auditorium is a familiar venue for the event as well as with 2011 marking the 10-year-anniversary of the last USA Boxing National Championships held in the historic facility.

USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).