Scrappers Boxing Gym & Community Fitness Centre is holding its third Inclusive Boxing Showcase Event – Round 3 on Saturday 29th June 2019 from 12pm – 2pm at Scrappers Boxing Gym & Community Fitness Centre, located at the back of the 24HR Gym, Langley Road, Hillmead Industrial Estate, Swindon, SN5 5WB.
This Event will showcase the skills of the fantastic people with disabilities who participate on the project.
We would like to invite people to come along and celebrate their achievements with us. The event is completely FREE to attend with refreshments available throughout.
The Scrappers Gym Inclusive Boxing Sessions provides regular weekly boxing skills sessions for people with disabilities; sessions run every Friday from 10am – 11am. There is an average of 30-35 people attending the weekly sessions and our annual event gives them the opportunity to show off their newly learnt skills. Our talented participants will get the opportunity to pick their own ring walk music, walk to the ring with their friends and family cheering their name and have a controlled boxing match against us volunteers and coaches.
Many of our service users would never have the opportunity to take part in a boxing event in a mainstream setting due to their learning and physical disabilities, which led us to the idea of putting on an event where they can have a real boxing experience first-hand in a controlled sparring environment.
The first event was held in July 2017 and in years gone by has been hugely successful and made even better by the crowds making plenty of noise throughout the afternoon.
Since we started our weekly disability sessions, it has been amazing to see the positive impact it has on the lives of those taking part, It is great to see them getting more confidence and learning the control that the sport needs.
The project provides social and personal benefits and improves health and well-being, ensuring that everybody benefits no matter what their physical disabilities whilst helping develop the provision for more adults with physical and/or learning disabilities to take part in boxing
Disabled people can find it difficult to get involved in sport, and boxing helps them to develop so many important skills – co-ordination, balance, strength, independence and social interaction, to name a few.
There are over 10,000 disabled people in Swindon including 3,000 with a severe disability and many find it difficult to access commercial gyms due to cost and lack of available support.
Disabled people are a large part of the community and traditionally they have been unable to access commercial gyms and leisure facilities.
Gari Fennell, Scrappers Gym member and participant of our disability sessions:
“I come to Scrappers on Friday’s for the disability session and also for the Wednesday evening open sessions each week. It gets me out and about, meeting new people and helps with my fitness and training. My condition affects my balance and mobility, which has really improved since I started boxing as well as my anger and mental health. I really enjoy these sessions.”
Scrappers Boxing Gym & Community Fitness Centre is a project set up and managed by the registered charity ‘Swindon Children’s Scrapstore’. The gym was set up in 2011 to provide a low-cost alternative to expensive commercial fitness centres to enable access to fitness activities for all.
Our amazing team of boxing and fitness coaches are fully qualified and experienced in work directly with young people and adults with a wide range of disabilities including cerebral palsy, severe mobility issues and wheelchairs users. Many of the participants have severe mobility issues and found that the exercise helped their mobility improve. This shows everyone with disabilities that there is nothing stopping them getting involved in sport.
Lewis Bird, Scrappers Gym Coach:
“An event like this enables our participants to go back into their communities with an immense sense of pride that they have competed in a tough, challenging event and reaped the rewards of their hard work. Without this gym, many of the participants with physical and/or learning disabilities would be missing out on the fundamental physical, social and emotional health benefits we would otherwise take for granted. It is a pleasure to see this project grow and would not be possible without the hard work of the volunteers and financial support from funders.”
We would like to thank our most recent supporters and funders who have awarded the Scrappers Gym project financial grants to help us continue to provide services we offer which directly benefit the local community. Zurich Community Trust, Wiltshire Community Foundation, St James’s Place Charitable Foundation, Persimmon Charitable Foundation and Columbia Threadneedle Foundation
Olivia McCann- Scrapstore Project Manager: “Scrappers Gym, community project is the only one in Swindon which provides access to boxing and fitness for people with disabilities and proves that disability poses no limits to success. We aim to provide an affordable, safe, supportive and welcoming environment at Scrappers Gym helping to reduce isolation and increase participation. The participants, coaches and I would love to have as many people in attendance as possible and make this year as memorable as the last, hopefully see you there.“
