Unorthobox’s founder looks back on the GB Championships

Unorthobox were welcomed to the GB Championships to see the atmosphere and experience a top-class boxing competition.

The club is a fully inclusive club and has developed the skills of a number of disabled members of the community.

The club brought a number of their boxers to Sheffield to see what the competition was like.

Unorthobox founder Sarah-Jane Murray said: “I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to England Boxing, GB Boxing and MLSGB for organising the experience our group had at the GB Championships earlier this month.

“At Unorthobox we pride ourselves in being fully inclusive and giving everyone opportunities to be involved in boxing regardless of ability.

“We do not segregate people with disabilities, we believe that everyone should train together. Breaking down barriers and challenging perceptions.”

Murray has worked alongside the team of coaches at the club to show them the benefits of the sport and she knew how inspiring see the sport live would be to her boxers.

“I knew how much it would mean to them to see the best amateur boxers in Great Britain competing,” Murray said.

“One of our participants has been blind since birth and she was able to keep up with the boxing alongside everyone else by listening to the commentary.

“We also have a coach who is visually impaired and a huge boxing fan, this was the first time he has been able to attend a large scale boxing event as he knew he would be close enough to see the action.”

The club was also invited inside the GB Boxing Gym and got to fully appreciate what it takes to train at the top level.

“Looking around the GB Boxing Gym was a brilliant experience for our mixed ability boxers,” Murray said. “Our sessions are currently in a squash court with minimal equipment (as we are a non-profit organisation with no current sponsors or funding) so it was fantastic for the group to see where the elite boxers train.

“This was the first time our participants have been in a boxing ring and the fact that it was an Olympic ring was awesome!

“Thank you so much for providing our group with a unique experience that they will remember for a very long time”.

For more information on Unorthobox please visit www.unorthobox.co.uk and follow them on Twitter @unorthobox