Boxing legend mourned
Tributes have been paid to Boxing Australia life member, ACGA life member and Maccabi Victoria Hall of Fame inductee Sol Spitalnic who died last week.
TRIBUTES have been paid to Boxing Australia life member, Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) life member and Maccabi Victoria Hall of Fame inductee Sol Spitalnic who died last week.
Spitalnic, who was a sports administrator for more than 40 years, was recognised by the government when he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1993 for his service to amateur boxing and awarded with an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.
He was the vice-president of the Australian Boxing Association from 1979-86, vice-president of the Commonwealth Boxing Bureau from 1982-86, executive member of the Oceania Amateur Boxing Association from 1990-94 and president of the Oceania Boxing Association for many year.
Spitalnic attended two Olympic Games, including when he was the boxing team manager at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, and seven Commonwealth Games, where he served as Australia’s general team manager, assistant general manager and boxing team manager.
He also proudly carried the Commonwealth Games torch during the torch relay prior to the opening ceremony of the 2006 Games in Melbourne.
His association with boxing started in the late 1950s when he was involved with the AJAX Boxing Club. In 1963 he joined the Victorian Boxing Association and he went on to became a delegate for the ACGA in 1972, a post that he held until 2006.
Maccabi Victoria president Joe Dorfman said that Spitalnic was an outstanding sports administrator and his contribution to the sport of amateur boxing in Australia was immense.
“He represented our community with pride and dignity, and this was recognised when Sol was admitted to the Maccabi Victoria Hall of Fame in 2000,” he said.
JOSHUA LEVI
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