Athena Female Empowerment enjoy memorable trip to Ireland

Athena Female Empowerment recently enjoyed its first international camp at the world-renowned Edenderry All-Female Club in Ireland, a family-run establishment with 91 years of history.

Athena, a training squad and charity, took a team of 28 female boxers aged between 12 and 30 years old, from novice to elite levels. The four-day camp was packed with rigorous training sessions including track workouts, pad and bag work, partner drills and technical training. All of these culminated in numerous rounds of sparring with Irish national champions and European and World medallists.

Located in the small town of Edenderry in the Republic of Ireland, the club was selected due to owner Liam Brereton’s success in hosting female-only camps and competitions. Brereton is a highly respected coach within the worldwide amateur boxing scene and is well known for his contributions to female boxing.

True to the promise made by Athena founder Paul Smith, the opportunity to travel to the training camp was open to female coaches and boxers across the country. Clubs from the East Midlands region travelled alongside participants from McKenzie’s, St Paul’s, Fan Boxing, Chelmsford and Jimmy Egan’s, amongst others.

“Edenderry is a live-in gym, so we literally ate, slept and boxed on-site. The girls shared dorm-style bedrooms with bunk beds which they all enjoyed”, explained Smith.

He continued: “I took advantage of my parents living in Dublin so they, along with aunts and uncles, handled all the cooking, preparing healthy, home-cooked meals to keep all of the girls fuelled for the intense training and sparring sessions. Some of the girls even helped in the kitchen.

“The boxing was incredible to witness but what truly stood out to me was the family atmosphere and the haven Athena provided for the girls to be themselves. The bonds and friendships that formed over the four days between the English and Irish girls were heartwarming.

“They looked out for one another and shared countless hours of laughter. When they weren’t boxing, they were singing karaoke, doing TikTok dances, playing Jenga and Uno or playing a volleyball match between the two rings.”

The honour of Boxer of the Camp was awarded to Ella Doe of McKenzie’s Gym, who received a medal and trophy. The award is handed out at all of Edenderry’s camps and Doe achieved the accolade due to her eye-catching sparring with her Irish counterparts. Every boxer who participated in the camp received an Athena Ireland 2024 training t-shirt as a keepsake.

Smith heaped praise on the squad, as well as those who helped behind the scenes: “Not only is Ella a talented boxer but she’s also a wonderful person and an integral part of the Athena family. Close behind Ella were Lexi Phillips and Tee Tee Moyo (for the award), with all three girls performing phenomenally and making their clubs and coaches proud.

“I loved every part of the camp. It took a lot of planning and hard work, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my regional secretary, Clare Lynch, and England Boxing’s Jake Foster, who went above and beyond to secure a box abroad permit through the new Locker system.

“Of course, I’m also incredibly grateful to the coaches who came to help and support the girls including fellow Athena founder Emily Harding, my daughter Sophie Smith as well as Nick Doe, Mark Lappin, Richard Knight, and female official Kylie Sigfusson.

“The camp ran smoothly, and I couldn’t have asked for more from the girls. This will hopefully be the first of many visits to Liam’s and other international training camps.”

Athena is now looking ahead to hosting a team of Danish boxers for a training camp in mid-September, with the Nordic team also set to take part in the Athena and Next Gen Inter-Region Sparring Day on the 15^th of September.