Dyffryn boxing club repair and refurbishment

• Who are we?

We are Dyffryn Amateur boxing club, based in Colwyn Bay North Wales. Our club originally started in 1965 and I have personally been involved with the club for nearly forty years. Having boxed for the club in my youth, I have been head coach for over fifteen years, and have trained and supported hundreds of local youngsters, and people of all ages and backgrounds over this period.

We are affiliated to the Welsh amateur boxing association, and have a dedicated team of 5 coaches, all of which are W.A.B.A qualified. I am head coach and hold a Level 1 Coaching qualification, along with a professional trainer's licence. In addition, we have a strong club committee who have supported us throughout our journey.  Our club is self-funded with all of the club's funds raised through members subs, casual customer payments, and two to three club tournaments per year are also put on to help raise funds.  

In the fifteen years since I have been head-coach we have achieved outstanding success, having trained fifty-six Welsh champions from schoolboy through to senior level. We have also trained three British champions, and a sole representative at the 2018 commonwealth games in Australia. And this year our clubs only professional boxer 26-year-old Gerome Warburton who started with us as an amateur at fifteen became only the ninth Welsh professional Champion to come from North Wales.

We currently have thirty-eight members twenty-six of which are under eighteen, twenty of our members are competition registered and we also have a high number of casual customers who attend our non-competitive classes. We would like to increase our numbers by offering an inclusive environment that offers an outstanding, affordable training facility for the local community. We offer a safe, secure and friendly club where people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds are welcome to use our facilities. 

Community impact

Boxing offers so much more than fitness and strength and at Dyffryn Amateur Boxing Club we have helped hundreds of people, from total beginners to experienced boxers in the local community to not only improve their skills and fitness but also their health and wellbeing both physically and mentally. Our coaches act as positive role models to help increase our members motivation, confidence, self-worth, and self-esteem. They encourage positive behaviours learned within the club and to be continued outside in the wider community. The club also aims to reduce anti-social behaviour in the local area, by offering youngsters a safe and secure training facility where we can fully focus their attention. Over the years we have also worked with local schools and other local sports teams, and this along with our club's success has also had a positive impact on the community.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Dyffryn Amateur Boxing Club is based in the heart of Colwyn Bay making it easily accessible to the local community. The building itself is in desperate need of essential repairs and refurbishment, including repairs to the roof, replacing outdated windows, and a full electrical re-wire. These jobs are a priority to protect the overall building and internal facilities from further deterioration. Due to the state of the roof water damage has been incurred leading the building to need decorating throughout and a thorough makeover. In addition to the above work, we also need to upgrade our toilets and changing rooms. 

By upgrading these facilities, we will ensure that we continue to meet the needs of our current members and will also create a more inclusive environment that would widen participation particularly of women and girls from our local community.

The building in its current state is not fit for purpose and therefore we are struggling to retain members as well as attracting those from the wider community which is becoming a hinderance to the club and its aim of developing its membership.

Our aim therefore is to create a fresh and exciting training facility, which will attract new customers that reflect the diversity of our local community and be a place where our current members can feel proud and excited to train in.

How we’ll spend the money raised

We plan to make essential repairs to improve our facility and create an outstanding local gym. We have continually tried to keep our gym up to date but over the years it has become tired and outdated. 

We plan to repair/upgrade the following:

Repairs to the roof

Upgrade outdated windows

Full electrical re-wire

Re-plaster damaged walls

Decorate throughout

Update changing rooms and toilets

Update some 

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Create a fundraiser of your own. Use the button on our page to get started. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes, and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!