LOOKING FOR HOPE

@BoxingNewsJD

HERE are no easy answers. This week we’ve been looking further at the problems afflicting amateur boxing clubs and the sport overall. We’ve been speaking to coaches across the country to get a deeper sense of the issues they’re having to confront. Different clubs will have different priorities, and for many their particular set of challenges will be unique to their particular circumstances. But it’s striking too to see how many share similar problems.

One of the primary impacts is of course financial, with the suspension of events and competitions and with numbers inside the gym limited due to social distancing. Islington boxing club is just one example. The two dinner shows they normally hold each year for instance bring in thousands of pounds. Neither can happen in 2020 and there is no way really of plugging the shortfall. Their overheads will remain just the same. “So that’s a major problem. We were closed obviously for lockdown, about three months, no money coming in at all but money going out. We’re just praying that there isn’t another lockdown. That would really make things tight just when we’re getting back on our feet and breaking even with numbers coming into the gym,” Islington’s Lenny Hagland told Boxing News. “It’s worrying, clubs are worried.”

Islington has