Show your support for next generation during SportsAid Week 2021

England Boxing Clubs and boxers are being asked to help support the next generation of stars by helping to raise £45,000 through the #MyMiles Challenge during September’s SportsAid Week.

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen Britain’s most talented young athletes presented with challenges and obstacles they never thought they’d face.

Training facilities have been placed under severe constraints, competition calendars cancelled, schooling and exams thrown into doubt.

Yet, despite all this uncertainty, their drive, determination and adaptability has shone through. Their future ambitions have not wavered. And now, more than ever, they need your help to keep moving forward as restrictions are eased.

To help out, SportsAid – which supports those including Billericay and Wickford’s George Liddard (pictured), Abby Briggs, Kelsey Oakley, Sahil Khan, Jimmy Dean Wood, Sameenah Toussaint, Holly Heffron and Prince Dubois –  is encouraging supporters of sport to undertake their own physical activity, either individually or collectively, linked to the numbers 45, 450, 4,500 or 45,000.

For example, you could do 45 lengths of your local swimming pool, spend 450 minutes practicing yoga, team up with work colleagues to cover a total of 4,500 miles cycling together, or do 45,000 steps over the week….and seek donations for your efforts.

A collective target total of 45,000 miles is has been set for SportsAid Week….with all contributions making a big difference towards reaching that goal.

Many currently supported SportsAid athletes will be targeting the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games – but the majority will see competing at future Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, Milano Cortina and Los Angeles as realistic aims.

Find out more by clicking here.

A step-by-step guide to the #MyMiles Challenge

1) Go solo or build up your own team

First of all, you have a decision to make….are you undertaking the #MyMiles Challenge individually or building a team of formidable friends, family and colleagues? This may dictate the amount of miles you wish to cover.

You can feel what it’s like to be a talented young athlete by setting yourself a personal goal and fitting this around your busy schedule….or you may decide this is the perfect opportunity to connect with a wider group and set an ambitious target for you to reach collectively.

2) Choose your target distance

The beauty of the #MyMiles Challenge is that it’s completely accessible….just put your own spin on the numbers 45, 450, 4,500 or 45,000! You could run a total of 45,000 metres, try 45 different sports, cover 450 miles (in a team) on the rowing machine or do 4,500 push-ups.

We have seen so many creative ideas over the years from individuals and teams…and they’ve all been inspired by the talented young athletes we support. We’ve put together a few more suggestions to get the juices flowing….but it’s a blank canvas so get your thinking cap on!

#MyMiles x 45

45 miles is around the distance a SportsAid athlete, on average, will get through in training every single week! Put yourself in their shoes, pick a sport and see how challenging it is across seven days with all your other commitments….you may be grateful for bed time!

#MyMiles Tour

Take us on a tour of your choosing…in the flesh or virtually! You may want to visit a number of stadiums or hunt down gold postboxes, perhaps within a 45 mile radius, and take selfies at each stop…or you could jump on Zwift and ride through Europe ticking off 45 countries!

Bolt’s Birthplace

4,500 miles! That’s around the distance from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London to Sherwood Content in Jamaica….birthplace of Usain Bolt! It’s an ambitious total but you can do it with a big enough team! Why not extend to a whole month to complete it or 45 days?

Race to Olympia

It’s nearly 1,500 miles from London to Olympia, Greece – the original site of the Olympic Games! Why not split into three separate teams and see who can complete the distance the quickest? By completing the challenge you would have collectively contributed 4,500 miles!

From our office to…

You may be working from home but this is a popular choice! Stick your office postcode into Free Map Tools, choose your distance and search for a ‘virtual’ end destination. You may find a venue of sporting significance….or get close by to an international office you want to reach!

3) Decide how you’re going to complete the distance

How you choose to support the #MyMiles Challenge is entirely up to you. We are looking for you to take the lead and decide how you would most like to join in. Perhaps you could opt for an Olympic or Paralympic discipline?

Running, cycling, swimming and rowing are always popular. How about archery, canoeing, fencing, sailing, skiing, table tennis, taekwondo or weightlifting? Team sports such as netball, hockey, rugby, football and basketball are excellent for getting more people involved.

Crossfit, boxercise, yoga and spin are classes you may like. This could be trickier with the current restrictions placed across gyms but why not find a class online?

Walking your dog, going for a stroll and actively commuting to work all fit the bill and can fit into your daily routine quite easily. The distance you cover doesn’t have to come via strenuous activity. The Challenge is designed to work for you. An important point mentioned above…20 minutes = 1 mile if it’s not easy to record the distance.

4) Set up a fundraising page

You can also set up a fundraising page in advance and encourage donations be made to SportsAid. This really is entirely up to you as to whether you wish to do so. Any money raised through the #MyMiles Challenge will support talented young athletes in many different ways – no matter how big or small the amount.

5) It’s SportsAid Week….do your miles and keep us updated

It’s Monday 21st September….time to start completing your miles! You have a whole week to cover your chosen distance but do feel free to do this over a longer period of time if you have set a more ambitious total.

We would love you to keep us updated on your progress through social media by posting a video or image using #MyMiles.…particularly as we can share this with the talented young athletes we support to show them you’re right there with them.