(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – The Road to London will go through Toledo for the United States’ top female boxers. With the Olympic debut of women’s boxing less than a year away, the spotlight is on elite female boxers across the nation. The 2011 National PAL Championships will be the final qualifying tournament for the Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing as boxers from throughout the United States convene in Toledo for the event, which will be contested October 3-8 at the SeaGate Convention Center.

At least the top three finishers in the three Olympic weight classes will claim spots in the Olympic Trials, slated for early 2012. The three weight divisions that will showcase the world’s best female boxers in London will be the flyweight (112 lbs), lightweight (132 lbs) and middleweight (165 lbs) classes. Due to each of the three Pan American Games qualifiers also finishing in the top four at the USA Boxing National Championships, there will now be a minimum of three Olympic Trials berths in each weight class on the line at the National PAL Championships. Should an Olympic Team Trials qualified athlete finish in the top three at the National PAL Championships, the next highest finisher will win the Trials berth until there are eight qualified boxers in each Olympic weight division.

The 2010 National PAL Championships served as an Olympic Trials qualifier for the male athletes and four of the PAL Champions went on to take gold at the Olympic Team Trials for Men’s Boxing in August. The first-ever Olympic Team Trials of Women’s Boxing will take place in early 2012 in a location to be determined.

National PAL Championships competition will begin on Monday, October 3 and run through Saturday, October 8 at the SeaGate Convention Center in Toledo. The open division women won’t be the only boxers competing for a national championship in Ohio. The National PAL Championships feature four different age groups ranging from the 11 and 12-year-old class through the open division for both the male and female athletes. Over 65 gold medals could be awarded at the conclusion of the week-long tournament.

As the 2011 National PAL Championships is an open tournament, the list of competitors won’t be available until after the event draw on Sunday, October 2.