A nine-man Irish Elite squad arrived in France this morning for a Round Robin tournament with the host nation, Germany, Morocco and Sweden. The tournament begins in Calais tomorrow.
Irish 2012 Olympians Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlan, John Joe Nevin, Adam Nolan and Darren O’Neill are included in the Irish squad.
Joe Ward, the current European light-heavyweight champion, has also been named in the Irish panel, along with David Oliver Joyce, Ross Hickey and Steven Ward.
The Round Robin will be the final competitive tournament for the Olympic squad before London 2012.
Katie Taylor has also qualified for the 30th Olympiad but is not taking part in the Calais Round Robin. Taylor won her fourth AIBA World Women’s 60kg title in-a-row in China last month.
Eight boxers, including Taylor, qualified for the London Olympics in the lightweight class in China.
The other four places (invitation places) to make up Taylor’s 12-strong lightweight Division will be distributed by the Tripartite Commission.
The Tripartite Commission are also due to announce their invitation places for male boxers for London 2012.