A West Lothian boxing club is on a quest to buy a new minibus to travel further afield for fights - after finding local opposition are uninterested in challenging their champion fighters.
Springhill, which is based just off of Harthill, have recently produced an amateur world champion, as well as a Commonwealth champion. But their success has come at a price.
The working class club are now struggling to find fights for their well tuned punchers due to their ferocity in the ring and triumph at national competitions. They say the minibus will allow the club to travel to England and Wales so that they can continue to develop their fighters.
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Springhill has been offering opportunities through the stewardship of Frank Delaney, 74, to working class fighters since 1979. Those at the club only have to pay £1.50 to receive the world class training offered within its four walls.
But in reality these funds simply keep the lights on. Shaun McGarvey, 40, Sighthill, who is one of the coaches at Springhill says that they are adamant they do not want to raise membership costs as a number of their fighters come from economically challenged backgrounds.
As a result they are appealing to the public to help them raise £5,000 to pay for a new minibus. Springhill is home to multiple Edinburgh coaches and fighters as well as local West Lothian lads.
“Where we are based is a relatively deprived area and a lot of our boxers come from working class backgrounds. We unfortunately don’t have a sponsor despite our success and that is why we are trying to raise the funds for a minibus,” Shaun said.
“We are victims of our own success in a way as we do not get invited to a lot of the other home shows in Scotland as clubs know our boxers are well trained performers. We are winning constantly so it is hard to get sparring as folk don’t want to come to our club. I feel there is an element of fear there.
“In the past a few clubs have come to us and you do notice the difference in the abilities of the lads. Our fighters are well schooled and we need to continue to offer them opportunities so it is time for us to look further afield to England and Wales.
“We are based in an old mining town and Frank doesn’t want to hike up the prices that would shut out a lot of the working class lads that we train. All of the trainers chip in. I’m from the Niddrie/Inch area, so I know how important it is to help the lads get equipment when they need it.
“But we just need a bit of help in getting a minibus as it is expensive. But it would allow us to continue to offer life changing opportunities for our fighters.”
Some of the life changing opportunities that Shaun is talking about are exemplified through the careers of fighters Willie Hutchison and Reese Lynch. Hutchison, who is 24-years-old, was trained by Frank from the age of nine, and has gone on to beat some stellar opposition from Cuba, Kazakhstan and Russia on his way to World Amateur and European Championships.
Shaun describes Hutchison as a generational talent and argues that Lynch is no different as he eyes a spot on the GB Olympics team after success at the recent Commonwealth Games. Lynch, who was also coached from a young age by Frank, recently won $35,000 dollars following a successful bout in Abu Dhabi.
Josh Mullen is the latest prospect climbing through the ranks, he is a Scottish Elite champion, reigning Western District champion and reigning GB champion at the age of 17. This shows the life changing capabilities of the fighters produced at Springhill.
Shaun and his team want to ensure that they can continue to offer these opportunities for global success to their working class bruisers. That is why the minibus is so vital for their club.
“We had one young lad who came from nothing. We took him down to a tournament in England in the car and he absolutely smashed it,” Shaun added.
“On the way back up he broke my heart when said that this was only his second ever holiday. He had only left Scotland once before.
“We want to give these lads a chance in life and boxing is amazing for so many reasons. The sport is about instilling discipline and changing lives. I stay in Sighthill now and am thankfully doing ok for myself despite coming from a working class background.
“Boxing gives you something to look forward to and is good for mental health. Some of our lads you can tell they don't have much but you can see where they can go with the right training and what they can achieve is life changing.
“Frank really understands the difficulties some of our families face and he is so respected in the boxing world. He knows the score having sparred with Ken Buchanan and had Dick McTaggart in his corner - he has been in the game a long time.
“Our gym is really well looked after so it also gives our boxers a sense of pride when they look at the medals and pictures on the wall. Springhill has a proud history of producing champions.
“Ultimately this minibus and any sponsorship we can get is for the boys. We try our best to support them but we want to give them more.”
Frank Delaney, David Mullen, Andy Campbell, Steven Deighan are all coaches at the gym alongside Shaun. To support their GoFundMe, click here.
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