There’s no room at the gym
Boxing club outgrows its premises
The Palmerston North Boxing Club is on the hunt for somewhere with more room to swing a bag, and a punch.
That’s because the club needs a new place to train because they have outgrown their location at the Te Awe Awe Scout Hall.
The club has been at the hall on Park Road for about 10 years, but long-time coach Malcolm Nicol was now after somewhere bigger.
‘‘We just can’t move in there some nights,’’ he said.
With two nights of training a week, Nicol said some nights they get up to 30 people training, and they also run boxfit classes before training sessions.
‘‘We’ve been looking everywhere for a place. There’s places, but they want mega dollars for them.
‘‘We’re hoping there will be some community minded person out there.’’
Nicol said they had a couple of options and the club has also had a meeting with Sport Manawatu about trying to find somewhere.
They’ve always had fairly big classes, Nicol said, but it is getting even bigger now, and he thinks the sport’s popularity has to do with when New Zealand has a top professional boxer
‘‘We had the same problem with David Tua, when he was the big man around the country. I think it’s got to do with Joseph Parker [now].’’
Nicol was hoping to find somewhere they could also set their boxing ring up, which would take up most of the room in the hall if they put it up.
They only set the ring up for big tournaments.
There are also punching bags, which they have to take down every night because they have to share the hall.
The club was originally at the old RSA above Cafe Cuba on Cuba Street, then shifted to a place near Preston’s Master Butchers, further down the road, before they moved to Park Road.
Nicol charges $2 a night for kids and he has had thousands of young boxers through the doors over the years.
He doesn’t mind doing it for kids from all walks of life.
‘‘If you’re not doing it, they’re down the road pinching a bike or something.’’
Nicol has been coaching for 48 years and is a life member of the New Zealand Boxing Council.
With the closing of the Cloverlea Tavern, the boxing club will now hold their big annual tournament at the Willowpark Tavern.