Nottingham School of Boxing’s delight at national award

Nottingham School of Boxing founder Marcellus Baz says the club is ‘absolutely delighted’ to has been recognised for its excellence at the national Community Sport and Recreation Awards 2021.

The Nottingham-based East Midlands Region gym won the Resilience in Adversity Award for sterling work during the course of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The announcement was made at a virtual ceremony on Thursday night, with the awards organised by the Sport and Recreation Alliance, which celebrates grass roots sport.

In making the award, it said: “Retaining engagement opportunities for its community during Covid-19 was vital for the Nottingham School of Boxing, whose members primarily reside in less affluent areas where access to space and facilities to exercise is limited.

“They immediately responded by setting up six daily boxing sessions per week on Facebook that were accessible and inclusive for all. All known vulnerable members were contacted directly within the first week of lockdown and attributed coach and mentor contact numbers to help guide them through the pandemic.

In June, their sister charity, Switch Up, arranged for weekly food packages to be delivered to vulnerable families and the school continues to support those most in need more than eight months down the line.”

The Resilience in Adversity Award was one of three new categories for this year.

Baz said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won a national award for Resilience in Adversity at the Sport and Recreation Alliance Awards.

“We are determined to continue to go above and beyond to ensure vulnerable young people could continue to access safe and accessible opportunities to be active and supported with their mental well-being during this pandemic.

“I would like to congratulate all the Nottingham School of Boxing and Switch Up team for going over and beyond to support those most in need.”

For more information on the awards click here and for further details on NSOB, click here.