Sport England’s Together Fund: Runcorn ABC

Runcorn ABC has used their Sport England Together Fund to improve their diversity and inclusivity, implementing a unique women and girls-only session.

The quirky sessions take place in a boxing-disco environment, addressing and improving issues such as weight management, isolation, mental health, and low self-esteem for those living in the local area.

As recipients of Sport England’s Together Fund, free and discounted sessions have been offered to improve the lifestyles of women and girls in the local area.

In addition, the club has also started a female-only boxing squad – something head coach, Darren O’Sullivan, has wanted to implement for a long time, with the aim for attendees of the boxing-disco class to compete for Runcorn eventually:

“By funding the project, it has basically allowed us to fill our Sunday schedule as a women’s-only day through the disco box class and the female boxing squad.

“The atmosphere in the club is brilliant. We have repeated attendees, and an excellent relationship is building between the people who attend.

“The volume of attendees has been around 10-15 weekly for the disco box and 8-12 for the female-only boxing squad. Whilst these sessions are discounted and free at present, in the future, if the numbers are maintained, we can ensure that this will continue through the additional footfall which financially helps the club’s sustainability.

“By introducing a female-only squad, this will allow us to hopefully add and increase the number of female boxers that we have which, we believe, will take us to the next level as a club.”