Craigmore ABC: Boxing Without Borders
Newry, Newry, Mourne and Down, United Kingdom
Aim
Giving young people from different backgrounds in Newry the chance to try boxing, build confidence, get active and make new friends.
Who are we?
Established in 2020, Craigmore ABC is a volunteer-run community boxing club based in Newry. We train throughout the week and travel across Ireland for competitions, with over 40 children attending our different classes on busy training nights.
We have classes for our younger members from age 7, competition training for our 11 to 17-year-olds, senior sessions, adult training and additional development and competition preparation at weekends. Some of our young people come to Craigmore because they want to compete, while others simply enjoy boxing, getting fitter and being part of the club.
Craigmore was originally established to give people in our community more opportunities through sport, health and wellbeing, and that is still a big part of what we do today. We are a fully cross-community club and one of the things we are most proud of is the mix of people who have made Craigmore their club.
We have welcomed young people from Chinese, Polish, African, Lithuanian, Bulgarian and Turkish backgrounds, members of the Traveller community and young people from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds. They all train together, and once a session gets started everyone is simply there to box, learn and enjoy themselves.
We have also been lucky to receive support to grow this work. Our previous Sport NI Crowdfunder focused on getting more girls and women involved in boxing, while support from the Brian Conlon Foundation has helped us create opportunities for minority ethnic and hard-to-reach young people.
This year we also moved from our old Abbey Yard gym to our new home at Ashtree Business Park. A lot of work went into the old gym over the years, so it wasn't easy leaving, but everyone at the club pulled together and got the move done. We are now looking forward to getting more people through the doors of our new home and making it a gym the whole community can feel part of.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We are crowdfunding to deliver a new 12-week beginner boxing programme for 30+ young people from ethnically diverse communities across Newry who are new to Craigmore and boxing.
For some families, the cost of gloves, wraps and protective equipment can make getting started difficult. For others, simply walking into a boxing gym for the first time when they don't know anyone can be a barrier. We'll provide the equipment, qualified coaching and support from day one and make that first step into the club as easy as possible.
We'll also use our local community connections, multilingual information, posters and targeted promotion to reach young people and families who aren't currently involved with Craigmore.
This is a new programme for Craigmore and additional to our normal weekly training. Our previous Sport NI Crowdfunder focused specifically on increasing participation among women and girls through girls' boxing, Boxercise and female coaching opportunities. This project has a different focus: reaching 30+ young people from ethnically diverse communities who are new to Craigmore and giving them a supported route into boxing and regular physical activity.
How will the programme work?
We'll deliver two separate 2-hour beginner sessions each week for 12 weeks, with young people divided into two age groups:
Ages 7–11: one dedicated 2-hour beginner session each week.
Ages 12–17: one separate 2-hour beginner session each week.
This gives us 24 project sessions and 48 hours of dedicated delivery. Each young person will have the opportunity to complete 12 weekly sessions and 24 hours of boxing activity.
Two qualified boxing coaches will be present at every session, providing 96 coaching hours in total. Having two coaches will allow us to work with smaller groups, adapt activities to participants' ability and give complete beginners more individual support.
The sessions will be additional to our normal club activity and designed specifically as an introduction to boxing for young people who haven't previously had the opportunity to get involved.
Weeks 1–4: Getting started
The first four weeks will be about helping participants settle into Craigmore, meet their coaches and learn the fundamentals of boxing.
Our 7–11 group will focus on movement, balance, coordination, basic stance, footwork, skipping and introductory boxing skills through enjoyable, age-appropriate activities.
Our 12–17 group will work on stance, movement, footwork, basic punching technique, fitness and introductory pad work.
We'll provide 30 pairs of boxing gloves, 30 pairs of hand wraps and 30 protective headguards, meaning families won't need to buy boxing equipment before their young person has even had the opportunity to try the sport.
These first few weeks are also about making people feel welcome. We want someone arriving at Craigmore not knowing anyone to start recognising faces, getting to know their coaches and looking forward to coming back the following week.
Weeks 5–8: Developing skills
Over the next four weeks, we'll build on those foundations and gradually introduce more structured boxing and fitness activities.
Our 7–11 group will continue developing movement, coordination, footwork, fitness and basic boxing combinations, with activities suited to their age and ability.
Our 12–17 group will progress into more structured technique, combinations, pad work, conditioning, movement and reaction drills.
We'll use 10 pairs of focus pads, 4 body/training shields, cones, floor markers and reaction equipment to create different coaching stations. This will keep sessions active and allow our two coaches to work with smaller groups.
We'll also use 30 skipping ropes, 6 resistance band sets and 6 agility ladders to develop fitness, speed, balance, coordination and footwork.
Alongside developing boxing skills, we'll encourage the values we expect from everyone at Craigmore: discipline, respect, teamwork, listening to coaches and supporting the people training around you.
Weeks 9–12: Building confidence and staying involved
The final four weeks will give participants the chance to put everything they've learned together and become more confident in the gym.
Our 7–11 group will continue developing their fundamental movement, coordination, fitness and boxing skills, while our 12–17 group will build on their technique, combinations, movement, pad work and conditioning.
Our coaches will adapt activities according to each participant's age, ability, confidence and progress, giving everyone the opportunity to develop at their own pace.
Throughout the programme we'll also provide the first-aid, hygiene and equipment-cleaning supplies, replacement wraps, tape and other small training items needed to keep sessions running safely.
At the end of the 12 weeks, participants who enjoy the programme will be encouraged to move into the appropriate existing Craigmore training group for their age and ability.
Some may eventually want to compete for Craigmore. Others may simply enjoy coming down every week, getting fitter and spending time with the friends they've made.
Both are important to us.
Building for the future
We don't want the impact to finish after 12 weeks.
As part of the project, two Craigmore volunteers will undertake further boxing coaching development, increasing the number of people within the club who can support new and beginner boxers in the future.
The gloves, headguards, pads, shields and fitness equipment purchased will also stay at Craigmore, helping us continue to remove equipment costs as a barrier for future beginners.
For us, success will be seeing 30+ young people who started with little or no boxing experience complete 12 weeks of regular physical activity, learn new skills, become more confident and feel comfortable at Craigmore.
Hopefully, plenty of them will still be walking through our doors long after the programme finishes.
How We’ll Spend The Money Raised
Every penny raised will go towards delivering our new 12-week beginner boxing programme for 30+ young people from ethnically diverse communities across Newry.
The funding will provide the qualified coaching, equipment, facility time and support needed to deliver two separate age-appropriate sessions each week and remove some of the practical and financial barriers that can prevent young people from trying boxing.
Qualified boxing coaching – £2,400
2 qualified boxing coaches × 2 hours per session × 2 sessions per week × 12 weeks = 96 coaching hours @ £25 per hour = £2,400
Beginner boxing gloves – £900
30 pairs of boxing gloves @ £30 each = £900
Hand wraps – £240
30 pairs of hand wraps @ £8 each = £240
Protective headguards – £900
30 junior/youth boxing headguards @ £30 each = £900
Pad work and coaching equipment – £600
10 pairs of focus pads @ £40 = £400
4 body/training shields @ £40 = £160
Cones, floor markers and reaction equipment = £40
Total = £600
Skipping and fitness equipment – £300
30 skipping ropes @ £8 = £240
6 resistance band sets @ £10 = £60
Total = £300
Coach and volunteer development – £600
2 Craigmore ABC volunteers undertaking boxing coaching development @ £300 each = £600
Developing two additional volunteers will increase Craigmore's capacity to support beginner participants and help continue the work after the funded programme finishes.
Project-specific facility hire – £1,200
24 project sessions × 2 hours = 48 hours
48 hours @ £25 per hour = £1,200
Community outreach and recruitment – £150
Multilingual/community information and printing = £75
Posters and leaflets = £50
Targeted local and social media promotion = £25
Total = £150
Programme consumables and safety – £300
First-aid and hygiene supplies = £100
Equipment cleaning supplies = £75
Replacement wraps, tape and small training items = £75
Printed programme resources = £50
Total = £300
Agility and fitness equipment – £102
6 agility ladders @ £17 each = £102
Total project cost: £7,692
Sport NI match funding sought: £5,000
Crowdfunder/club contribution: £2,692
The equipment purchased through the project will remain at Craigmore after the 12 weeks and continue to be used by participants who stay with us and by future beginners coming into the club.
Community Impact
Craigmore has always tried to be a club where young people from different backgrounds can walk through the same doors, train together and feel welcome.
We already have young people from Chinese, Polish, African, Lithuanian, Bulgarian and Turkish backgrounds, members of the Traveller community and young people from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds involved in our club.
This project will help us reach 30+ more young people from ethnically diverse communities across Newry who are new to Craigmore and boxing.
Importantly, we're not expecting them to already be sporty or know anything about boxing. We're actively trying to reach beginners, provide the equipment they need and give them 12 weeks rather than a single taster session to settle in, build their confidence and decide whether boxing is something they enjoy.
For our 7–11-year-olds, the programme will provide a regular opportunity to be active while developing movement, balance, coordination, confidence and fundamental boxing skills.
For our 12–17-year-olds, it will provide structured physical activity alongside opportunities to improve fitness, develop boxing technique, learn new skills and build confidence and discipline.
There is a benefit for families too. Parents and carers will know their young person has somewhere positive to go each week where they can be physically active, meet other young people and be supported by qualified coaches and volunteers.
We also want the programme to help young people from different cultures and backgrounds build relationships through sport. Someone who arrives at Craigmore not knowing anybody in week one could be holding pads for a new friend a few weeks later.
The impact will continue beyond the participants themselves. Two Craigmore volunteers will receive further coaching development, increasing our capacity to welcome and support beginners in the future. The equipment purchased will remain in the gym and be available to future participants.
Most importantly, we'll provide a clear pathway beyond the 12 weeks. Young people who enjoy the programme will be encouraged to progress into the appropriate existing Craigmore training group for their age and ability.
Some may eventually want to compete for Craigmore. Others may never compete and simply enjoy training, keeping fit and being part of the club.
For us, both are a success. We want to use boxing not only to develop boxers, but to bring young people from different backgrounds together and give them somewhere in their community where they feel they belong.
How Craigmore ABC Boxing Without Borders Meets Sport NI’s Creating Opportunities Aims
Our project fits closely with what Sport NI is trying to achieve through Creating Opportunities. We want to use boxing to reach young people who are not currently involved with Craigmore and make it easier for them to become active, learn a new sport and feel part of a local club.
A big part of that is who we are trying to reach. Our 12-week programme will engage 30+ young people aged 7–17 from ethnically diverse communities across Newry, including young people who have little or no previous experience of boxing. This means we're directly reaching two of the groups identified by Creating Opportunities: children and young people, particularly those aged 11–18, and ethnically diverse communities.
We know from our own club that boxing can bring young people from very different backgrounds together. Craigmore already includes young people from Chinese, Polish, African, Lithuanian, Bulgarian and Turkish backgrounds, members of the Traveller community and young people from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds. We now want to build on that and reach young people and families who haven't yet come through our doors.
For some, cost is a practical barrier. Buying gloves, wraps and protective equipment before knowing whether boxing is for them can be difficult for a family. For others, the barrier can simply be confidence – walking into a boxing gym for the first time, particularly when you don't know anyone there. Our project addresses both by providing the equipment, coaching and support participants need and giving them 12 weeks to settle in and properly experience the sport, rather than relying on a one-off taster session.
The programme is also new and additional to Craigmore's normal club activity, which is important to us. These aren't extra training sessions for our existing competitive boxers. We will create two dedicated beginner groups, with 7–11-year-olds and 12–17-year-olds training separately, providing 24 new sessions and 48 hours of additional boxing activity over the 12 weeks. Sport NI specifically requires funded projects to increase participation through activity that is new or additional rather than routine club operations.
We're also doing more than recruiting participants. Two Craigmore volunteers will undertake further boxing coaching development alongside the programme. They will be able to put that development into practice by supporting our qualified coaches and working with beginners during the project. That gives the volunteers practical experience while increasing the number of people within Craigmore who can support new participants in the future. Sport NI specifically identifies new coaching or volunteer development initiatives as an example of activity Creating Opportunities can support.
There will also be a clear route beyond the funded programme. At the end of the 12 weeks, young people who want to continue will be encouraged into the appropriate Craigmore group for their age and ability. The gloves, headguards, pads, shields and fitness equipment purchased for the project will remain at the club, so future beginners can also get involved without needing to purchase everything themselves.
For Craigmore, creating opportunities means making the first step into boxing easier. If 30+ young people who weren't previously involved can come through our doors, train regularly for 12 weeks, become more active, make friends and feel that Craigmore is somewhere they belong, the project will have achieved what we set out to do. If some of them are still training with us months or years later, that will be an even bigger success.
How You Can Play Your Part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target and make the project happen.
1. Make a pledge. Every donation, big or small, will help us provide the coaching, equipment and support needed to get these young people involved.
2. Spread the word. Share our Crowdfunder with your friends, family, workmates and local community groups. The more people who hear about the project, the better chance we have of reaching our target.
3. Offer a reward. If you are a local business and could donate a prize or reward for the campaign, please get in touch. We will make sure people know who has supported us.
4. Fundraise for us. If you would like to run your own fundraiser or sponsored challenge for Craigmore, we'd be delighted to have you involved.
We have had brilliant support from the Newry community since Craigmore started in 2020 and we wouldn't have grown into the club we are today without it.
This time we're asking the community to help us give 30+ more young people their first opportunity to get involved in boxing.
Thanks for supporting Craigmore ABC.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 30th September 2026 at 9:34am