That was the advice given to the eight boxers of Scotland’s Commonwealth Games Team by Performance Director and National Coach Craig McEvoy when they left to compete in Birmingham last summer.
I was delighted to meet Team Scotland's Golden Generation of Commonwealth Games 2022 boxers at Boxing Scotland’s state of the art High Performance Centre in Bridgeton, Glasgow on Friday.
Team Scotland’s remarkable success at this year’s games in Birmingham saw three gold medal wins after magnificent victories for Sam Hickey, Sean Lazzerini and Reese Lynch, all of whom I was lucky enough to meet and are pictured with me.
I also enjoyed discussing the future ambitions of the sport with Boxing Scotland’s Head of Operations, Marianne Crichton, who explained that clubs not only provide pastoral and educational support to young people and adults in need, but also promote social inclusion, tackle criminal activity and antisocial behaviour, and deliver improvements in physical and mental wellbeing.
Boxing plays a very important role in many working-class communities in Scotland including North Ayrshire, which boasts excellent clubs, including IMC Boxing Club Saltcoats and Garnock Valley Boxing in Glengarnock.
Greater confidence, discipline and self-esteem are delivered by Scotland’s 125 boxing clubs.
Going forward, Boxing Scotland aims to appeal to even more young people of all abilities, especially girls, and I was delighted to speak to Niamh Mitchell, who on 30 September made Scottish boxing history after becoming the first female medallist for Scotland at the European Boxing Confederation European Junior Championships.
A list of BoxingScotland affiliated clubs can be found here:
