THE SHE – STORY OF AMATEUR MUAYTHAI

When Amateur Muaythai first came to prominence under the IFMA umbrella, who could have thought it would grow from just 19 countries to the present 100 member countries?  And, more specifically, who would have foreseen the massive leap in female participation levels?

As the men’s competitions developed over the years, from 1990, female fighters looked on and began to question their status.  So, in 1999 at the stadium in Bangkok, the first amateur international women’s competition took place. In front of an enthusiastic crowd, many of the myths about women not being skilled enough to fight or entertaining enough for the crowd were laid to rest. 

At the World Cup 2000, the decision was given to stage a tournament for women as part of the main competition.  12 Female teams competed and presented a great display of skill.  The final matches consumed a full day at the end of the tournament.

During this time, there was much work involved behind the scenes to bring the judging, refereeing and other aspects of the women’s sport up to the same standard as the men’s. 

An innovation from IFMA was having female referees for the female fights.  To this day, the decision encourages women who may not want to fight to be able to participate fully in the sport.   IFMA has always conducted referee courses as part of the World Championships and now the door was open to women, to ensure a constant supply of qualified referees.  The first 20 female referees from around the world graduated and all female fights in the future at the World Championships would be totally controlled by female referees and judges.

The first Female Muaythai Executive Board was established with leading positions as one of the IFMA committees went to former female champions who have much experience and understand the requirements for female Muaythai.  Four of the IFMA National federations now have female Presidents - New Zealand, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Portugal.  This certainly demonstrates that there is no discrimination in Muaythai.

With all of this occurring, it is not surprising that the 2002 World Championships witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of female competitors, with 20 countries entering female teams to the competition. Her Royal Highness Princess Siriwanwaree Nareeratana presided over the opening and closing ceremony.

Also, all continental championships included female competition as part of the championships.

Kazakhstan hosted the World Cup in 2003 with 28 countries accompanied by female athletes.  The best female team title was captured by Australia, proving that in Amateur Muaythai there is no such thing as a sure bet.  His Excellency General Pichitr Kullavanijaya honored the tournament by personally attending the event. 

The World Cup 2004 was an exciting showcase of female talent when female fighters from almost 50 countries participated.  Strong teams from the USA, Canada, Australia, Finland, Ukraine, South Africa, New Zealand, Russia, Thailand, Greece, England and many others competed for the coveted medals and team trophies.  Boxers from countries such as India and Sri Lanka, where Women’s Muaythai is in its infancy, received great cheers from the capacity crowd.    The team competition was very close, while Finland took the honors. 

The World Championship in 2006 drew attention to the competitions from 62 female teams.  Her Royal Highness Princess Siriwanwaree Nareeratana presided over the opening ceremony.

In 2007, 68 female teams entered the World Championships and the closing ceremony was presided by Hein Verbruggen, President of GAISF.

Female Muaythai, as a result of hard work from IFMA and its Asian federation FAMA, has recently been included as a full medal sport in the Sea Games. The She-Story will go on and Female Muaythai unmistakably has become as popular and maybe a little more, as the male sport.