Sparring remains down for the count
Boxing clubs re-open under strict COVID -19 safety protocols
It’s been three months since boxing clubs across Ontario fell silent.
Heavy bags hung unused. Golden glove training abruptly came to a halt. Boxercise classes were no longer an option. All due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gyms across Niagara Region began to worry. How could they effectively re-open and teach a highcontact sport — without any contact?
“It was more frustrating than anything because there was no end in sight to this at one point. The nature of the sport is contact. You’re always encouraging contact.” said St. Catharines Boxing Club coach Bruce Greenlaw.
“You just think we’re going to be the very, very, very last thing to open.”
Greenlaw credits Boxing Ontario’s creation of the COVID-19 task force with putting together a safe return plan that enabled clubs to re-open as part of Stage 2 of Ontario’s reopening plan.
Once the sport’s provincial governing body received the go-ahead from the Ontario government, it sent members essential safety standards and guidelines to follow.
One of the first steps was sanitizing the entire club. Greenlaw, a retired firefighter, was able to use his free time over the last month to clean everything “top to bottom, side to side,” jumpstarting St. Catharines’ reopening last Tuesday.
The club also implemented new rules, asking students to register for each class in advance due to the cap of 10 individuals — including coaches — allowed in the gym at one time. Physical distancing is being enforced outside the building as students arrive, and every individual must take a COVID-19 symptom screening prior to entry.
Inside, Greenlaw and head coach Joe Corrigan marked the gym with directional arrows. Students are assigned a heavy bag to use during class, while still maintaining the two-metre distancing requirements.
Four-by-five-foot squares are laid out on the floor so each boxer can skip and shadow box in their own space.
And after every session, the coaches sanitize the club — bathrooms, floors, bags.
Clubs may be open, but they are far from normal.
“There is no sparring at this point, there’s no technical sparring and no hand pads between boxers or coaches. So we’re not there yet, but we’re definitely optimistic that Boxing Ontario is working very hard to get us to that point,” said Greenlaw.
Getting back on track after three months is one thing for an established gym. But for one club in Welland, the closure came at a painful time.
Jimmy Bland moved from Toronto to Welland in January after retiring from the postal service. He opened his gym, Bland Boxing Club, Feb. 15.
Just weeks later, it shut down. “It was heartbreaking really. I mean we were starting to develop a clientele,” said Bland, a lifetime boxer with more than 100 amateur fights on his resume.
“We really thought we were on a boom just before we closed it.”
Before reopening last week, Bland implemented Boxing Ontario’s new regulations, reducing the number of heavy bags in the gym and eliminating the boxing ring altogether.
One of the toughest changes was eliminating shared equipment, such as gloves and hand wraps.
“We try to keep our club rates down so that people can come in. And then we try to have equipment for them, for a while at least, until they know if they like the sport,” said Bland.
“But at least we can get people in. We can work them out and people have a place to come.”
Nappers Boxing Club head coach Ray Napper said the family-run Welland gym will reopen shortly, as it continues installing the new safety requirements laid out by Boxing Ontario.
“It’s just my family and I who run it, and we all have other jobs. We don’t make money off the boxing club so it’s sort of our hobby,” said Napper. “It’s a little bit different, a little bit more difficult for guys like us but we want to get our members back in the gym and back enjoying the club.”
While some boxers are hesitant to go back to class — Bland said not all his members have returned — many are excited.
“A lot of people, they’re going to be over the moon when they’re able to come down and hit the heavy bags, regardless of the different type of atmosphere it might be in,” said Napper.
Bland opened his boxing club in part to offer mental and physical support to individuals in need of an outlet. Now, more than ever, he understands how the sport can help relieve any built-up frustration and anxiety.
“Being inside all the time like this, that’s got to be a stress on your mind,” said Bland. “(People) need that kind of social thing and an activity where they can let some energy out. I think that’s important.”
Reopening remains a work in progress. Clubs are being cautious, taking it one step at a time.
They are hopeful to add additional classes and increase the number of boxers in the gym as they become more comfortable in this new reality.
“It’s a little hectic,” said Greenlaw. “It’s a learning curve for us.”
But, said Bland, at the end of the day, “it’s much better than being closed altogether.”
The nature of the sport is contact. You’re always encouraging contact. You just think we’re going to be the very, very, very last thing to open.”
BRUCE GREENLAW ST. CATHARINES BOXING CLUB COACH