SPORT
Friday February 19, 2021
Cairns Local News
Zero to 100 in ten years TANYA MURPHY
Mitchell Ezzy (15) and Hayden May (12)
Hooking into boxing TANYA MURPHY Local legend Kevin Mayo says boxing saved his life when he was young. Now the retired 69-year-old is using his spare time to help other young people develop fitness and life skills through the sport. The lifelong boxing enthusiast, youth worker and musician started the not-for-profit Marlin Coast Boxing Club in 2015 as a way to “give back to the community.” “Boxing makes you a better person, gives you confidence and discipline, a better mentality to life, and reduces attitude problems,” said Mr Mayo. “It gives kids strength and heart about their capabilities and sticking up for themselves, but also teaches them that if people pick on you, you don’t need to fight, you can walk away proudly.”
Mr Mayo previously worked for the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardians, and decided to volunteer his skills towards a good cause after retiring in 2007.
ymore and they’ve got new friends.”
“My son was a professional world champion and my other son was a fighter too,” he said.
The club holds ninja gym classes for zero-to-five-yearolds, as well as modified low-impact fitness classes for older people, and advanced and technical training for boxers at competitive levels.
“Over the years I’ve had my own gyms, but it was a dream to start a not-for-profit to give back to the community. “It’s about giving back to the kids, helping them keep the off the street, motivating them into jobs, into university and guiding them into the right mindset. Boxing is only the tool to engage them. “We get cranky ones that come in, and when they start training, they settle down and start helping each other in the gym, and when they leave they’re not cranky an-
Mr Mayo said the club’s members included all ages and backgrounds including a large number of girls and women.
All the gym’s trainers are volunteers, and more trainers are sought. Volunteers must have, or obtain, a blue card to work with children. Kerrie Wilson said she decided to volunteer as a trainer after seeing what a positive influence Mr Mayo was on local youth. “I believe in what he’s doing and I’m so privileged to be a part of it,” she said. The club had to close down last year due to COV-
ID-19 regulations, and will celebrate its official 2021 reopening this Saturday February 20, with a family fun day from 10am. The day’s festivities will include with a pig on a spit, boxing demonstrations, sparring, live music from ‘Wind and Wood,’ and a jumping castle. Mr Mayo himself, who is also an accomplished musician, will be performing some classics, with his specialties being country music and Neil Diamond. The cost to attend is a $5 donation and children under five are free. The boxing club is hidden behind trees at Lot 2, Marshall Street, Machan’s Beach, with a sign and parking on the right just after the sports oval and before the bridge to Redden Island.
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IN an amazing feat of endurance, Cairns local Colin Sampton ran 100 kilometres at the Cairns Esplanade last Saturday, February 13 to raise money for the Indigenous Marathon Foundation (IMF). The 31-year-old completed the remarkable run in 14 hours, starting at 4am, with 40 laps of the Cairns Esplanade in steaming hot weather, as crowds of onlookers cheered him on. He started fundraising for the challenge just two weeks beforehand and raised a total of $15,300. Mr Sampton said he battled with obesity and depression prior before joining a gym in 2011, and participating in the Indigenous Marathon Program (IMP) in 2013, and said the program was life-changing. “Back in 2011, my life was spiralling out of control. I was overweight, I was suffering from depression. My outlook on life was negative,” he said. “At first I could only run 300 metres before I would be fully exhausted and would want to quit and give up. “I had to keep finding new levels in my mind and my body where I was able to push out these runs and increase them every week. But I never stopped putting on my shoes and getting out the door.” Every year the IMF selects a group of young Indigenous men and women (aged 18-30) to compete in the New York Marathon with just six months of training. The program states that it aims to highlight the incredible natural talent that exists within the Indigenous population, with the hope to one day unearth an Indigenous long-distance running champion to take on the African dominance. Mr Sampton said participating in the New York marathon with 52,000 runners and more than two million supporters had been a surreal experience, and helped him fall in love with long distance running. He completed 13 marathons and two 50-kilometre races, before deciding to celebrate his tenth year since he
started his health and wellness journey, by completing the 100-kilometre challenge. “I thought what better way to celebrate the 10 years than to give back to the project that’s given so much to me and my community, to help them create more leaders,” he said. He said the run was not easy, with bad cramping in his quadriceps between 60 and 80 kilometres, but he pushed through and even had enough energy to speed up for the last seven kilometres. “I had so many people cheering me along my way and people jumping in and doing laps so they could pace me through,” he said. “It was such an inspiring and motivating day for everyone and I’ve got a huge response from people wanting to get out the door and move their bodies and get more healthy and active now. “It’s been a really humbling experience to have an impact on my hometown.” Since its inception ten years ago, the IMF has trained a total of 109 young Indigenous people not only to run, but also to become role models within their communities, promoting health and physical exercise in order to address high instances of chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease and renal failure. Mr Sampton, who previously worked in hospitality, said he had made a lot of good connections through his 100-kilometre challenge and his goal now was to pursue a career in health and fitness to encourage others to meet their potential. “I fell in love with this feeling I get from running, and I always want to strive to give others the opportunity to experience it. It’s meditative, you’re in a state of zen,” he said. “I still find it exciting running around Cairns because I find different new footpaths and trails and I just love that, you haven’t seen your own back yard unless you’re out there in nature and moving your body and experiencing a new lens to your back yard.
Cairns & Community Dementia Support Group Y O U ’ R E
N O T
A L O N E Our fortnightly gatherings offer a safe space for social engagement and support for people living with Alzheimer’s or Dementia and their loved ones. These sessions provide an opportunity for attendees to enjoy time together in the company of others in a similar situation. Morning tea is provided (paid for by gold coin donations) When: Every 2nd Wednesday Time: 10 am — 12pm Cost: Gold coin donation Where: Cominos House (27 Greenslope St, Edge Hill)
UPCOMING February 3rd and 17th MEETINGS: March 3rd, 17th and 31st
April 14th and 28th
For more information call Karina on 0421 416 971 or Helen on 0407 589 338 or email karinagray61@gmail.com
