Local club celebrates success with Commonwealth boxer

A local amateur boxing club held a ‘knock out’ event on Wednesday, 5 March, when they got a visit from a Commonwealth Gold boxing champion.

Courtney Fry is a former 4 nations champion and was ranked eight in the World in 2002 (in the Light Heavyweight category). He held a coaching session for Carlisle Villa Amateur Boxing Club’s members.

The Sport England ‘Sporting Champions’ visit was arranged on the club’s behalf by Carlisle City Council’s Sports Development team. It recognised a series of positive developments that the club has recently put in place over the past six months. These include:

• Clubmark Accredited Club - The boxing club has recently been rewarded, through the Amateur Boxing Association of England and Sport England, as only the second Boxing Club in the UK to achieve Clubmark status. The club has worked closely with the City Council to achieve the award which is recognised nationally for clubs who have junior and youth sections; and
• Funding - The club have also been rewarded through the National Lottery Awards for All funding scheme. A grant of £10,000 has enabled them to purchase much needed new equipment and two new boxing rings. The City Council has also awarded the club £300 funding towards the new equipment.

Members of the club, their friends and family, alongside local dignitaries, were invited to attend the celebration event. Former Great Britain boxing coaches were also on hand to provide professional support during the evening.

Carlisle City Cllr Ray Knapton, Portfolio holder for Community Engagement said:

"Carlisle Villa Amateur Boxing Club provides a valuable service to local youngsters and the wider community. They have been up and running for more than 15 years and their celebration event highlights their recent successes and allows some of the young amateur boxers to meet, and be coached, by a gold winning Commonwealth athlete."

Carlisle Villa Amateur Boxing Club has around 52 members. Coaching sessions are available for junior boys and girls (aged from nine years old) and adults. Telephone 01228 542161 or 01228 819937 for information on the coaching sessions.

Cllr Colin Glover, speaking on behalf of Currock Ward City Councillors added:

"We are very fortunate to have the Carlisle Villa Amateur Boxing Club as part of our community. The Clubmark accreditation and national lottery funding is a tribute to the dedication of the coaches and other volunteers who make it all possible and also the young people who come along to achieve sporting discipline, fitness and skills."

Sporting Champions is a Sport England initiative, which brings world-class athletes face-to-face with young people to inspire and motivate them to participate in sport. Around 450 visits are organised each year, bringing world-class athletes into schools and local communities throughout the country. Funded by Sport England, the programme is an important strand of the national strategy for school sport – PESSCL. Through their work, they hope to encourage youngsters to be more active so they can live up to their potential in sport and in every other part of their lives.