AWARDS THE AUSTRALIAN MUAY THAI AWARDS

The Australian Muaythai Awards with founder Angie Parr

Whats up Angie! A few years back you came up with this idea, now a big deal in Australia. What a great concept, please tell us a little more about how it all works… the selection, the voting etc. Hi guys. Yes, I came up with the idea of the Australian Muay Thai Awards in 2013. I woke up one day and had dreamt it all. I had to start with the volunteers. Caley Reece put me onto Melina Yung from NRF and I asked Claudine Gaggiano from Melbourne, and we also asked Reinhardt Badato and Lisa Gioiello from Sydney to help organise.

We made it a people’s choice award, so people can have their say and get excited to see who makes it into the top 5! Once we get the nominations in, we have a meeting with one person from each state to make sure the top 5 are most deserving and qualify to be a finalist. They have to have had a fight this year and have been busy, for example.

And how do you get it all funded? Sounds like a serious budget needed. At the start of the event we had to have fundraisers to even pay for advertising material. Gyms help with sparring days and BBQ’s to help raise awareness and promote the event. We have a small fee added on tickets to cover venue hire, entertainment, photographers, red carpet and back drops and so on, to help cover cost. We are non-profit, so everything goes back into the night to make it special for fighters and they look like movie stars. Now that we have been doing the awards every year, we are lucky to get sponsors on board and that helps a lot.

Does being nominated for an award or winning one also help raise the profile of Muaythai in a broader sense? Or help winners obtain sponsorship or more media coverage?

This is exactly why I wanted to promote the awards. We are giving people the recognition that they deserve. They can use it in their resume that they have been a winner like Australia’s Best Fighter for example, when they are applying for sponsorship. At the event it is also great to network. I have had young fighters gain sponsors at these events because it gives the public a chance to get to know the fighters on another level.

This years awards were hosted in Melbourne, could you imagine that the idea may also work in other countries? This year the awards were hosted in Melbourne by Mark Castagnini, it was a great success and we had very good numbers in the big city. I definately think it could work in different countries. I would love to work with them and explain the concept and if they would like to use our system, we could arrange it.

Nothing to do with the awards, but I will ask anyway! Angie Parr back in the ring one day, or in the cage or on the mat? I hear you train BJJ, hard! I retired 7 years ago. I am fully retired. I love Muay Thai, but it´s very hard to do what I do and train full time. I have 3 kids who keep me busy. I run the gym while JWP travels. And, I don’t have the fire that I used to have 20 years ago - she smiles - I wanted to do a Jiu-Jitsu competition but I tore my knee. I need surgery. Maybe when it is better I can look into it again.

Thanks Angie, all the best to you, your family, everyone down at Boonchu and of course, to everyone involved in the Australian Muaythai Awards – what a night!

www.amtawards.com.au