About Us
We are an inclusive organisation who work closely with our allies to disrupt homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and interphobia in boxing and sport in general. We believe in the modern world it is also about championing confidence, health and wellness, love, community and friendship.
Our aim is to promote boxing to and amongst the LGBTQIA+ and wider community, providing opportunities for LGBTQIA+ people to compete in the sport of boxing in a safe and friendly environment.
We will hold a successful boxing championship aligned with Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) Rules ensuring that no individual shall be excluded, shamed or intimidated from participating based on sexual orientation or identification. Boxing Australia Limited (BAL), the peak body for the sport in Australia, and Boxing Australia NSW (BNSW) are providing institutional support to WGBC.
We have received statement of support from the World Boxing Council, International Boxing Organization, World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association.
All events will be sanctioned by a boxing authority with safety our number one priority.
OUR VALUES
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Leadership
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Inclusion
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Fearless
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Enjoyment
Our Roadmap
The WGBC Roadmap ensures that a phased-approach is implemented to build on our widening credibility as a main sporting event in 2023
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2021 - Our first event in collaboration with our partner Corporate Fighter and development of the boxing program
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2022 – Exhibition Event
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20-24 February 2023 inaugural World Gay Boxing Championships in Sydney coinciding with the city hosting the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and Sydney WorldPride
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Beyond - continue championships and exhibitions in other cities across the world.
Meet the Executive LeadershipTeam
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Martin Stark
Meet Martin whose pronouns are His/Him.
Meet the visionary who set into motion the goals, values and purpose for World Gay Boxing Championships. Little did he anticipate the effect he was going to have on the people around him. How he was going to change the lives of thousands of LGBTQ+ and Allies.
When he's not working on WGBC (which is rare), you will either find him speaking to boards and organisations on Courage and Inclusion or at the gym getting fighting ready for WGBC 2023.
Martin is a Founding Member and Advisor to BBG Inclusion and Diversity Group the Yarning Circle. He has been nominated to be the Champion for both Pride 365 and Courage.
Board Member, Company Secretary & Program Director
Sharon White
Meet Sharon whose pronouns are She/Her.
Sharon is a Director at KPMG Digital Delta. She brings 28 years of experience as a leader in the fields of Enterprise Information Management, Business Intelligence, Data, Analytics and IT Transformation. Always customer facing, Sharon has worked at all levels of management with a number of high profile organisations globally in Retail, Government, Telco, Property, Airlines, Utilities, FMCG and Finance.
Board Member & Business Advisory
Paul Johnston
Meet Paul whose pronouns are Him/His.
Paul is a Chartered Accountant with extensive post qualification experience gained in the Big 4 (PricewaterhouseCoopers), major FMCG multinationals and an independent financial services practice.
He brings an extensive range of corporate and commercial skills. In addition, he has played major roles on a global finance transformation, finance functional restructures in Australia, New Zealand and internationally and more recently leading the execution of international M&A deals, ensuring the alignment of strategic rationale, the financial investment case and the rigorous identification of risks and their mitigation.
Paul brings his worldly financial expertise to our board and the community.
Board Member & LEX
Flavia De Souza
Meet Flavia whose pronouns are She/Her.
We will share her profile soon.
Board Member & COO
Jenny Vaz
Meet Jenny whose pronouns are She/Her.
Jenny's mission is to create greater belonging in the world. She is social entrepreneur, certified leadership & life coach with a strong background in digital and I.T. She spent 20 years in Digital, Tech, Consulting & Research, based in six countries (US, Asia and Australia). She has worked with billion-dollar businesses & conglomerates as well as government organisations, both local & federal, to help them create and facilitate technological & cultural changes in their business.
Her strength is in creative systems designs and solutions and at the core of it, the impact on people. Jenny runs her own digital consulting business to help startups launch their ideas within three months to scale sustainably as well coaching & mentoring aspiring women leaders. She is a fierce advocate for fairness and equality particularly the protection of the vulnerable in society.