Jeanette Dyzel, a trailblazer for women in boxing
Her Bert Collins Boxing Club is the only club in the country that had five SA Champs in 2018.
Jeanette Dyzel has established herself as one of the best boxing coaches and referees in South Africa.
Her club, the Bert Collins Boxing Club, is the only club in the country that had five SA Champs in 2018.
She is the only Star Two Course qualified referee in South Africa, which means she is one step away from qualifying to referee at international tournaments and at the Olympics.
She was one of the first three people in South Africa to be trained on how to use the computerised scoring system.
Dyzel has since gone on to qualify to do scoring internationally and at Olympic level.
Not bad at all for someone who started off as the secretary of the Brakpan Boxing Club 23 years ago.
The Geduld-based coach says she initially got involved in boxing through her late husband, who was an avid lover of the sport.
After his passing, she took a year off before her cousin lured her back into the boxing world.
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Then, 11 years ago, the Brakpan Boxing Club and Springs Boxing Club were amalgamated into one club, now known as the Bert Collins Boxing Club.
“Bert Collins is the man who started Springs Boxing Club in the 1940s and I thought it would be nice to honour him for what he did in Springs,” says Dyzel.
When she came back, she went on a coaching course before studying further to become a referee.
“In a male-dominated field like boxing, nobody takes you seriously.
“The men weren’t very happy to have me in their world.
“I got a lot of criticism and problems, where they would rather qualify the men and kick me aside, but I eventually got my qualification to be a referee in 1998,” says Dyzel.
In 2004, she did a South African National Boxing Organisation course and qualified as a referee at national level.
“It was a lot of hard work.
“There were a lot of inner fights with the men and once I got out of the ring when some men were shouting at me and I told them not to shout at me as I was not their wife, but simply doing what a referee does and looking after the boxers.
“My prime concern is the boxers.
“Nowadays it’s a bit better, but you still get those people who question your decisions because you’re a woman,” says Dyzel.
Dyzel says contrary to people’s assumptions, referees must be fit as they undergo the same tests as the boxers.
Referees must practise as much as the boxers do, they have to stay match fit.
The coach says she would love to see more women alongside her as referees, but they need to put in the work and mustn’t let themselves be intimidated by men.
Dyzel says the referee side of her has helped make her a better coach.
“When I get into the ring with my boxers when I’m coaching, I also explain the rules to them.
“It gives me the practice and also helps them be better boxers,” says Dyzel.
The biggest test and highlight of her coaching and refereeing career was the first time she refereed a Geannè Dicks fight.
“She’s my boxer and my granddaughter.
“It was a learning curve as well as I had to keep my emotions in, to be fair, not talk to her because now I wasn’t allowed to talk to her at all.
“I did quite a good job even though she started crying because she got a blow to the nose, and I had to tell her to stop, that was the only thing I said to her,” says Dyzel.
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Just as female referees have struggled over the years, female boxers and women’s boxing as a sport has struggled to grow.
Dyzel says there needs to be more support for female boxers as they lack funding and resources.
There used to be great support from government, but over the years it has dwindled.
Even at the Olympics there are five weight divisions for women, but 10 for men.
“There’s a lot of coaches, especially the old male boxers, who don’t want to train female boxers.
“They don’t like women boxing.
“Even when they are boxing, it’s hard for them to get fights; in 2019, Geannè went to the SA Champs with two fights under her belt for the whole year,” says Dyzel.
There’s still a stigma against female boxers and parents are hesitant to let their children do the sport and some are pressured by boyfriends to quit the sport altogether.
The club is waiting for the lockdown to end before they hear which tournaments will still take place this year.
In the meantime, Dyzel will continue to be a trailblazer for women in boxing.
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