Young farmers’ full-on fight night
What started as ‘‘fight in a hay barn’’ has grown to ‘‘full-on fight night’’ for a group of rural amateur boxers who plan to swap fencing wire for ring ropes next month.
Waikato/bay of Plenty Young Farmers Club president Jason Te Brake said he has been overwhelmed by support for the charity evening that will take place during Fieldays in June.
‘‘It’s not just a bunch of young farmers having a punch up - this is much bigger than that,’’ the KPMG accountant said.
‘‘Our Young Farmers group initially thought it would be a good idea to have a fight in a hay barn but I thought we could make it a bigger event for charity, so we have booked the Don Rowlands Centre at Karapiro and we are aiming for over 200 people to be there.’’
He hoped the addition of three women’s fights would appeal to a wider audience along with the six men’s bouts on the June 15 card.
‘‘Fieldays time seems to be the time that the industry gets together and there has been plenty of interest from Young Farmers clubs right around the region.’’
The match contenders were from Young Farmers clubs around Waikato/ Bay of Plenty, but Mr Te Brake said national interest meant the fight night could be even bigger next year. ‘‘There has been feedback from other regions about taking part so it could become an annual event in the future – but we’ll see how this year goes first,’’ he said.
Event organiser Casey Huffstutler said the contenders were taking the event ‘‘very seriously’’.
‘‘Everyone has been training at least two or three times a week so we are expecting big things,’’ she said.
All proceeds from the event will go to the Waikato Westpac Rescue chopper - a vital emergency service for rural communities.