Ten national team boxers, all 2015 National Open champions, entered non-residential training Tuesday before departing today for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for the tournament starting March 23.
They were flagged off at Lugogo yesterday and travelled at night with Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) meeting their road travel expenses.
"Your girlfriends might want to 'congratulate' you on winning the Opens, but tell them to give you a break, at least for these few days you are preparing for the tournament next week," Bombers assistant coach Oscar Binka told his team.
During the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland last year, head coach Dick Katende was enraged after his boxers, including skipper Rogers Ssemitala and eventual bronze medallist Fazil Juma, failed to keep their weight under check.
The coach spent more time in the gym trying to help the pugilists regain their shape.
As a result, Ssemitala, who was widely expected to win a medal lost in the first round.
Katende is keen to avoid a recurrence of the Glasgow scenario and has repeatedly reminded the boxers to remain disciplined. Meanwhile, East Coast Boxing Club will also participate in the same tournament.
The Naguru-based club was invited by the Tanzania Boxing Federation as the 2013 East and Central Africa Club champions.
Hussein Khalil, the club's head coach, is targeting exposure for his boxers.
The week-long tourney, in honour of the Late Julius Mwalimu Nyerere, Tanzania's founding President, will attract several national and club teams from across Africa.
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