Big blow as boxing club hunts for a new home
A BOXING club which has helped keep kids off the streets for almost 30 years is searching for a new home.
Ashton Albion Boxing Club has not only has it taught youngsters how to box, but it has also taught discipline, confidence, and helped to change and shape the lives of some of its members.
But now, the club’s future is at risk as it faces being left without a home.
Wayne Heywood, who runs the club voluntarily with two other coaches, says the club has rented the premises on Penny Meadow in Ashton-under-Lyne for the past 25 years.
However, the company which owns it now needs the space back, and has given Wayne six months to find somewhere else to go.
“We are a vital organisation,” Wayne, 52, told the M.E.N.
”We help to keep kids off the streets, we give them somewhere to go.
“There hasn’t been a youth club around here for many years and this is where the problem lies.
“There’s nothing for them to do, and that’s when they can end up going in the wrong direction.
“I’m not just a coach, I’m a parent, guardian, agony aunt, and you do manage to turn some of the kids’ lives around.”
The grandad-of-three – who has another grandchild on the way – said it is important they find the right space.
He added: “The company needed the space back and we were given six months to find somewhere else.
“There’s no animosity. It’s just one of those things and I am very thankful for all the support over the years.
“We don’t have much funding, and rely on the subs that we get from the kids, so we need somewhere affordable that’s big enough to fit the ring and our equipment.
“We want to stay in Ashton. It’s where the kids come from, and a lot of our parents can’t or don’t drive. If we don’t stay then they wouldn’t be able to get there.
“I take a lot of pride in what I do, especially when you have people coming up to you on the street 20 years later to say hello, they remember you, and the club.”