REME Boxing

REME Sport

REME Boxing is back with a bang!

Scribe: Cpl Liam Jones (REME Boxing Head Coach)

REME Boxing conducted a two-week training camp in Tidworth for Boxers across the Corps during February. The response was phenomenal as a total of 32 Boxers with varied experience from across the Units & Battalions attended. The training camp was aimed at developing personal boxing abilities and for those who were new to Boxing, to give them the fundamentals of boxing to take back to their units to practice further. This wouldn’t have been possible without having 6 Boxing Coaches who attended, who provided a wide range of knowledge and experience. The Boxers and Coaching staff had the privilege of attending the ‘Home of Army Boxing’ where they had the opportunity to be coached by the Army Head Coach, Sgt James Allen (REME). It was a great insight for the Boxers & Coaches to learn and understanding the scoring system within a contest and how they can implement certain skills into their style to get the win. The first week of the training camp was focused on developing the Boxers within their Sgt James Allen (Army Head Coach) giving advice to the Boxers for the technical session they are about to conduct own styles and develop team cohesion within REME Boxing. We towards the development and discipline that boxing demands. worked on the fundamentals through the delivery of an intense but The coaching staff were pleasantly surprised with the talent of the structured training programme. All participants had the opportunity Boxers who had never undertaken a boxing contest before, LCpl to have ‘one-to-one’ coaching with the REME Boxing Coaches which Abraham (12 Regt RA LAD) and LCpl Wolfendale (1 Yorks LAD) were was a great way to monitor their progression over the two weeks and two Boxers who have never entered a boxing contest. They both give them work on points to take away with them. impressed the coaching staff with their skills and abilities in the

During the final week of the training camp the REME Boxers sessions and will be ones to watch out for in the future. 8 Field Para enjoyed the experience of ‘Engineers Hill’; especially those Boxers Coy also brought a strong team of Boxers which is a team to look out not based within the Tidworth area. It wouldn’t be a Tidworth for in the Corps Championships. training camp without running up and down a hill. The training camp The Boxers had time to give their feedback with regards to the was concluded with an evening at the First Fusiliers Boxing Gym for training camp and what they would like to see for the future of REME sparring. This was the time to put everything they have worked on Boxing. Lt Waters of 8 Para Field Coy who was the sole officer to over the training camp into practice. Within this final week all the attend the camp as a Boxer sat down with the Boxers and Coaches to Boxers showed great progress; making many improvements within gather their points for continuous improvement. These are detailed their own style. This was due to all the Boxers having a great attitude below.

The Boxers enjoying a refreshing run up Engineers hill

Accessibility

•The majority of Boxers feel that the opportunity to box for their home unit is extremely limited.

With many not knowing a POC they can easily access; they struggle to conduct any training and feel that this is why people who may have a spark of interest for the sport lose it.

Response: All units should have a unit Boxing Officer who is responsible to the CO for the safe delivery of boxing within unit. If unfortunately, this is not the case then I would recommend approaching a local unit who may offer the sport on a Wednesday sports afternoon/evening. A civilian club is also a viable option.

•Some soldiers within REME Bns feel that the lack of Bn Boxing gyms do not allow them to establish themselves as legitimate teams. Real estate for a Corps gym should be considered, with Unit Boxing Officers made responsible for resourcing a suitable training area for potential

Boxers.

Response: With the current Army structure seeing multiple units located on a single camp it comes as no surprise that Real Estate has become sought after. The

Good evening of sparring with the First Fusiliers Boxing Team

Corps committee has aspirations for the Corps gym to be based at

Lyneham where we can capture the majority of REME soldiers.

•The Corps needs more Level 1 and 2 Coaches spread around it. This will allow as many LADs/Wksps/Units to at the very least conduct in-house training and allow every REME SP the opportunity to train for boxing and be taught the proper techniques. It would be highly beneficial to run a Level 1/2

Boxing Coach course every 3-6 months at either Lyneham or

Tidworth; preferably wherever the REME Boxing Coach is located to oversee and network. It could potentially run straight after the end of the training camps.

Response: Agreed. The Army School of Physical Training routinely hosts coaching courses. Link via MODNet is https://modgovuk.sharepoint.com/teams/7259/CAV/SitePages/Boxi ng.aspx. As part of our strategy the Corps will look to host coaching courses in the near future.

•More REME Boxing Camps! All attendees for the Feb 22 camp thoroughly enjoyed it and it facilitated SP from across the

Corps to network with one another. It also gave the Head

Coach a look at his potential team for future competitions.

Running 3 to 4 REME Boxing Camps a year would be ideal with different camps being run for experienced and novice fighters – it would be down to Unit/LAD/Wksp Coaches to send who they feel is most suitable for each camp.

Response: Prior to CV-19 the Corps routinely hosted Boxing Camps and our aim is to get back to this. The next training camp is scheduled to take place on 18-22 Apr with details to follow shortly.

We will look to run additional training camps around the UK so that the burden of travel is equally shared across the Corps.

Opportunity

•All Boxers would be interested in competing to earn their place in a “REME Boxing Team”, this would be the team that fights directly under the Corps Head Coach and competes in major competitions. The team would ideally be allowed to attend training camps (2-6 weeks) in preparation for competitions and would be treated like their Football/Rugby counterparts.

Response: With the current operations and commitments, we would struggle as a Corps to conduct lengthy training camps. Our model is proven where we must continue to rely on inter Sqn/Coy championships across our units, 1 to 2 weekly Corps training camps, civilian/inter Corps Boxing nights, and annual Corps Championships to develop our pool of REME Boxers.

•The Boxers would all be very interested in training at civilian gyms around the country. During training camps, there could be opportunity to travel to different regions around the country and perhaps train at famous civilian gyms in

Manchester, London, Sheffield etc. This would not only provide a great training opportunity but would also be beneficial in building up the PR of REME Boxing within the wider Corps.

Response: Our training camps usually incorporate civilian gyms where we find the best value for training and development.

Historically we have had success in Liverpool and Scotland with previous REME Coach’s SSgt’s Craig McEvoy and Scouse Richardson.

We still have those links and will look to exploit them in the future.

•The Boxers are very interested in competing abroad. Whether in Europe or in another continent, the chance to represent the

LCpl Abraham showing why it’s important to have a good defence

Corps and even the British Army overseas would be a great opportunity which all would relish. This would also spark interest across the Corps for individuals to get involved in the sport and encourage the team to perform to its maximum potential.

Response: For some time REME Boxing has had the aspiration to undertake an overseas Boxing tour and the Corps Committee is weighing up options as this goes to press.

Desirability/PR/Reach

•The Boxers felt that most people in the Corps were put off from Boxing due to the way it is perceived by PTIs and the

CoC. They feel that most soldiers are intimidated by the prospect of being beaten up and therefore do not give the sport a chance. More should be done to educate all within the

Corps about the benefits and reality of boxing training. There are certain levels of ability in boxing – as there are in all sports – and each person should know that they are going to be appropriately challenged at their own level; nobody is there to be seriously hurt in the early stages of their boxing journey and all practice is conducted safely in a controlled environment.

Response: The duty of the Coach is to always protect the welfare of the Boxer. I’m pleased to say that the approach to boxing across both the military and civilian domain is a lot more regulated and mature than maybe 10-15 years ago. Coaches provide a structured pathway for Boxers to learn and develop in line with their abilities. Primacy is given to the safety of the environment and we take this very seriously in REME Boxing.

•Boxing Officers should encourage the CoC to throw a “Boxing themed” PT session maybe once a quarter in order to spark the interest of potential Boxers within Units.

Response: Agreed and this is the approach that I have sometimes adopted. Boxercise provides a strong cardio workout, focus and of course releases the frustrations of a busy schedule.

•More should be done on social media to spread the influence of Corps Boxing across the wider Corps. The existence of a

Facebook page is a good start but to keep up with social trends, an Instagram page, Twitter, Snapchat etc must also be created in order to reach out to all on the social media sphere.

A “Day-in-the-life” takeover by a Boxer would perhaps also be beneficial.

Response: Facebook has seen some successes in the past but to ensure we are compliant with current policies for Boxers, Coaches, latest news and the release of Notices/Admin Instructions we have devised a ‘REME Boxing’ Defence Connect Page which can be found by the QR code below.

This was the first training camp I have run since taking over the

LCpl Cook providing 1-1 coaching with Sgt Moore, look closely for the Rocky facial expression

The Boxers and Coaches after a great days training in Aldershot

REME Head Coach position. I look forward to the future of REME Boxing and getting the Corps back to the top where we belong. I want to keep building on the momentum off the back of this training camp and have another one already scheduled for 18-22 April (Admin Instr to follow). This will be perfect preparation for the Corps Boxing Championships being held on 17-19 May. I urge all unit Coaches within the Corps to get their Boxers civilian registered to allow more opportunity for bouts, whilst developing wider relationships with other civilian clubs. If you are a Boxer or qualified Coach within the Corps, please don’t hesitate to get in touch; we look forward to hearing from you. REME Boxing Chairman: Col T Lambert REME Boxing Officer: Maj Gordy Bromidge REME Boxing Secretary: WO1(RSM) Ben Robinson (8 Trg Bn REME) REME Boxing Head Coach: Cpl Liam Jones (QRH LAD)