Milestones
Scrappers Boxing Gym & Community Fitness Centre celebrated its 6th birthday on 1st November 2017.
We secured funding from The Big Lottery to provide non-contact boxing skills sessions for people with disabilities starting from, January 2016 for one year, the project has been a great success and we managed to secure additional funding from Zurich Community Trust to continue running sessions until December 2018. We have an average of 25-30 people attend the sessions each week. We aim to ensure that nobody is denied the opportunity to better themselves and their health. We try to make sure that everybody gets as much as they possibly can out of each class, no matter what their physical disability.
Scrappers Boxing Gym & Community Fitness Centre held an Inclusive Boxing Showcase Event on Sunday 16th July 2017 from 4pm – 6pm at Scrappers Gym to showcase the skills of the people with disabilities that participate on the project. This was a superb event and was well attended by local & professional boxers as well as a big turn out from local members of the public. Scrappers Gym Patron and Swindon’s Boxing Legend, Ricky Porter, attended the celebration event and Ricky continued to show his support and admiration for the project.
This community project is the only one in Swindon which provides access to boxing for disabled people 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.
Achievements
There have been a number of achievements for the project and with the main aim of the project to provide a location and facilities to help local community with an emphasis on the young and those with disabilities, we have excelled since the projects inception.
During the past 6 years the project has been running, we have worked with and supported over 10,000 children and adults in the Swindon community.
With more support in the form of funding and people giving their time, we are helping more and more people as each month goes by.
During last year, we worked directly with over 2,460 young people aged 5 – 24 years as well as over 2,025 adults aged 25 years and above.
Scrappers Gym not only helps to improve and develop their fitness and physical well being, but also helping them to improve their confidence and self-esteem as well as learning discipline and control.
Scrappers Amateur Boxing Club (ABC)
Scrappers Gym has improved access to sport for young people and built stronger communities.
Following the success of the community gym we have developed links with local schools providing non-contact Boxing Skills classes during P.E. lessons and after school, delivering a structured skills programme for young people. We have developed the programme further to provide a pathway from school sports into regular club engagement by starting Scrappers Amateur Boxing Club in November 2017.
We have a group of experienced and qualified ABAE Level 2 Boxing coaches, who run the Scrappers ABC. Paul Rogers’, Swindon’s first ABA Champion, Steve Cooney, experienced boxing trainer, ex Swindon Amateur Boxer with 15 year’s boxing experience, Kelly Morgan, ex professional boxer and WBC Silver Super Middleweight boxing champion 2016, Neil Jarmolinski, ex professional boxer and amateur boxer in the Army, Alan Reid, ABAE Boxing tutor, Olympic Boxing sportmaker and Level 2 Gym instructor, and Tracey Costello, ABAE Level 1 Boxing coach and experience with working with young people, volunteer to help run the club and motivate and inspire young people.
