(FEB 19) Northern Quest Resort & Casino has signed a four-year deal to host the USA Boxing National Championships, the premier Olympic-style boxing event in the United States. The 2013 edition will take place March 30-April 6 with preliminary action at the Hub Sports Center, supported by the Spokane Sports Commission, and the semifinal and final round bouts taking place at Northern Quest. The first-class facility hosted the historic U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing in February of 2012.

Northern Quest did a fantastic job in hosting the first-ever U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing, bringing USA Boxing back to the facility for the organization’s key domestic event. “Northern Quest Resort & Casino is an excellent venue and their staff did a tremendous job with the historic Women’s Olympic Trials last year.” USA Boxing Executive Director Anthony Bartkowski. “This four-year agreement is the first of its kind for USA Boxing and we look forward to working with Northern Quest and the Spokane Sports Commission to put on first class events beginning with the 2013 USA Boxing National Championships.”

“We’re absolutely thrilled that USA Boxing selected our resort to host the National Championships annually from now until 2016,” said Phil Haugen, General Manager of Northern Quest. “Spokane continues to make a name for itself as the successful host of a variety of world-class sporting events. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing held here last year in February were well received by our community and well attended by local, regional and national audiences. We value our partnership with USA Boxing and the Spokane Sports Commission, and we look forward to bringing the nation’s most talented female and male boxers back to Spokane.”

For the second straight year, the USA Boxing National Championships will be an open tournament in both the men’s and women’s divisions. The athletes will not need to qualify through their local and regional tournaments to compete in the event, as had been the case in the past.

For the first time, athletes are able to register online and online registration is currently taking place via USA Boxing’s website, www.usaboxing.org. The final tournament schedule will be announced following the completion of registration on March 22.

The male winners from the 2013 USA Boxing National Championships could win the opportunity to represent the United States in the 2013 AIBA World Championships in October. In both the men’s and women’s divisions, the USA Boxing National Championships will determine the international travel team for 2013.

As the first USA Boxing National Championships tournament of the new quadrennial, the event will showcase many of the athletes who will vie for berths in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 in both male and female Olympic-style action.

Tickets for preliminary, quarterfinal, semifinal and final bouts are on sale now. Prices range from $5 to $40 depending on the level of event. Early bird all-session passes are also available for $100 (until March 1, 2013). Tickets can be purchased online at www.northernquest.com or calling the Northern Quest Box Office at 1-877-871-6772.

Many of boxing’s greats got their start at USA Boxing National Championships, including: Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali), Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar de la Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and Andre Ward.

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