Rise in membership and clubs reported at 2019 AGM
March 23, 2019 | by Matt Halfpenny
A healthy rise in both club numbers and membership were among the highlights of the past 12 months detailed by Chairman Caspar Hobbs and Chief Executive Gethin Jenkins at the 2019 AGM of England Boxing Limited.
Speaking to the meeting held at the Magna Science Adventure Centre – prior to the staging of the England Boxing National Junior Championships 2019 – it was revealed that the number of active members during the period had risen from 825 clubs to 921 and membership from 16,400 to 18,536.
With the help of nine Club Support Officers now in post, almost £5.5 million in funding has been secured through more than 180 grants for clubs across the country, while the Maverick Stars Trust project is set to invest a further £67,500 over the next year.
Work is ongoing to strengthen the safeguarding measures in place at member clubs, while the introduction of the England Boxing Women’s Winter Box Cup shows the desire to continue the growth of inclusivity within the sport.
Significant progress has been made in terms of governance and standardisation of rules while, on the competitions front, the Elite Championships has been renamed the National Amateur Championships and given a standalone Finals Day, and the England Boxing Title Belts have been reintroduced.
A new charity foundation is in the pipeline, as is a new website and, in terms of coach education, level one refresher and level two courses are now being rolled out to complement the existing level one course.
This progress aims to ensure England Boxing is addressing the objectives of its strategy from 2017 to 2021 – Inspiring And Transforming Lives Through Boxing.
“A lot of work has been done ensuring that the offering as a national membership organisation remains relevant, compliant, accountable and, most importantly, safe for our boxers to participate in,” said Mr Jenkins.
“This, however, pales into insignificance compared to the efforts of the boxers, coaches, officials and volunteers, who week in, week out, not only take part in the sport, but provide additional work and contributions in their local communities throughout the country.”
Mr Hobbs, meanwhile, congratulated the England national squad for an outstanding year on the international scene.
In 2018, no less than 38 medals were won by English boxers at major international tournaments, up from 26 in 2017 and 23 in 2016.
A total of 300 boxers were put through their paces on the Talent Pathway Programme and 147 of them pulled on an England vest in competition.
Mr Hobbs said: “We punch above our weight and as a nation not only hold our own but beat some of the great boxing nations.
“I would like to congratulate and thank all our boxers, our national coaches, the club coaches who got our boxers to national level, and all the support staff who make our team so successful.”
