A Carlisle boxing club has undergone a major revamp – thanks to the dedication of volunteers and help from a Cumbrian firm.
Carlisle Villa Amateur Boxing Club, off Currock Road, has recently doubled the size of its premises, allowing it to offer more training sessions to the local community.
With new ceiling tiles and roof insulation donated by British Gypsum and Isover, the extended training area now includes an extra ring, new training equipment, and additional floorspace for fitness sessions.
The club opened in 1974 and offers a lifeline to the community. Over the years, boxers representing Carlisle and the club have even gone on to win national competitions.
With the club’s popularity growing significantly over the last few years, the training space was in desperate need of an extension to allow more people to use the premises and to avoid turning people away due to space restrictions.
After being unsuccessful in securing any grants over the last 10 years, the club took it upon itself to raise money through its own fundraising events to fund the cost of the ambitious renovation project.
The extension was completed in February and now offers a larger area for the club to run HIIT sessions, women’s classes, mental health groups, and youth clubs for the local community.
Jimmy Brennan, lead coach, said: “We’re so much more than just a boxing club now. Our mission is to have as many people as possible from the local community attend our sessions to keep fit, and this extension to our gymnasium has enabled us to double our number of attendees.
“This donation from British Gypsum has covered the whole area of our extension, completely insulating the new roof and new flooring throughout. This generous donation has allowed us to focus our investments into furnishing the gym, with new equipment like bags, a new ring, and new flooring.
“As well as the normal boxing and HIIT sessions, we also run mind-fit sessions free of charge twice a week, for anyone suffering with mental health issues. The donation has allowed us to grow these sessions and offer more help in the local community.”
Philip Sant, plant manager at British Gypsum’s Kirkby Thore site, said: “It’s great to see the wide-reaching positive impact of our donation on the local community, from helping young people get active to creating vital mental health support. I look forward to seeing the club grow and flourish even further in the coming years.”
