Local football coach Steadman Scott and his club Afewee have won their year-long fight to get a boxing club started at the Brixton Recreation Centre.
GLL and Lambeth Council last month gave the go ahead for a non-contact boxing club to launch with an event at the Rec on March 30. Sessions for adults will start from April 2, costing just £5. On Sundays, there will be classes for younger people teaching non-contact boxing skills in the Energy Zone, costing £1-2.
The classes will be led by Steadman Scott, who has been given training in boxing coaching, alongside a fully-qualified local boxing teacher.
Proposals for the club were submitted in January last year. In August, a documentary about Steadman and young local boxer A.J.Carter, called ‘Uncle Steadman’, was screened at the Ritzy. A heated discussion about the community uses of the leisure centre ensued in the Q&A. A petition for a boxing club run by the Brixton Rec Users Group gained 997 signatures and was presented to council by Cllr Heywood.
Local professional boxer AJ Carter, who campaigned for the club, said at the documentary screening last year: ““There’s nothing actually for kids to come and explore the world of boxing. I think in terms of confidence and self-control, a lot of young kids would need that.”
David Duncan from BRUG praised the council’s change in attitude since the summer: “Richard Wilson from the council has been very good in clearing the way for this. It really is the most significant community-led development in God knows how long.”
