Women’s Coaches and Officials Attend Learning Camp In Aldershot

This weekend saw the Women’s Coach Development Programme (WCDP) and Women’s Officials Development Programme (WODP) join forces for a two-day learning camp, hosted by the British Army Boxing Team in Aldershot.

It proved to be an extremely valuable experience for all those who attended and brought together both practical and theoretical elements under expert guidance.

On Saturday, gym bouts were staged to mimic, giving the officials a chance to practice their judging, timekeeping, and refereeing skills.

At the same time, the coaches were put out of their comfort zones by having to take the Army boxers who they didn’t know in the corners – quickly introducing themselves and bidding to bond and gain trust – in what was a massive learning curve.

“All of the boxers were fantastic and I would like to thank them for allowing the WCDP to have this experience,” said England Boxing’s Women and Girls Officer, Laura Sargeant.

“It was a really great day and it allows everyone to practice their craft in a realistic, but safe and friendly environment, without the usual pressures being there.” Everyone finished off activities by watching the team in action against the Home Counties.

Sunday saw the Coaches and Officials team up for a short seminar on the scoring criteria delivered by Amy Pu. This proved to be an insightful session and sparked a lot of questions from both sides.”

The officials then had their own workshop, and the coaches went on to have an invaluable session on planning which was delivered by Army coach, Shane Sadler.

Sargeant added: “All in all, it was a fantastic weekend with everyone learning and developing together, growing their networks, and learning something new to take away from it.

“A massive thanks to Ben Stewart, Alanna Nihell, Shane Sadler, and the Army Boxing Team for having us down and supporting the programmes as well as the future of Women In Boxing.