Please give your support to England Boxing’s RESPECT campaign

Dear Member,

As a valued member of an England Boxing community numbering more than 17,000 registered members, we are writing to you to ask for your help.

England Boxing has rarely seen such success on the international stage, both within the ring and in the achievements of the supporting cast of coaches and officials. The emergence of such talent is constantly applauded, and we continue to contest at the highest level against some of the greatest boxing countries in the world.

It is therefore disappointing that while we celebrate such accolades our sport can, at times, be embroiled in distasteful and unwarranted interactions. A lack of appreciation for others, and the stealth growth of a sub-culture of disrespect has been increasingly evident over the past few seasons.

This lack of respect for officials, coaches, and, at times, the boxers themselves, is becoming a threat to your success as a membership and our ability as a national governing body to sustain the sport.

A lack of support for our officials has been cited as one of the fundamental reasons for dwindling numbers of both established and new members of that fraternity. While many agree such actions should not be tolerated, only with support of the membership as a whole will such behaviour be kicked out.

With this in mind, England Boxing is launching a campaign called ‘RESPECT – plain and simple’, calling on everyone within the sport to treat each other as an equal, and with the respect they deserve.
Clubs and England Boxing members can help by:

• Displaying the printable ‘A4 RESPECT – plain and simple’ poster in club gyms (which can be found in the Vault’s, Knowledge Base Locker).
• Posting RESPECT banners on social media (which can be found in the Vault’s, Knowledge Base Locker).
• Using the RESPECT banner within club show programmes.
• Ensuring that the RESPECT message is passed on to all members, coaches, volunteers and parents, and that they understand its importance.
• Encouraging an atmosphere of RESPECT by everyone in club gyms.
• Reporting any issues where people are not adhering to the RESPECT principles at events.

As part of the campaign, England Boxing are set to display a series of pop-up banners, ring ‘Toblerones’ and literature at major Championships as the year unfolds and also promote the RESPECT message on social media.

It is part of a determination throughout 2019 and beyond to ensure that the need for respect across boxing is collectively agreed, supported and demonstrated, with mutual buy-in needed from officials, competitors, coaches, spectators in order to stamp out what has been a growing problem.

Kind regards

England Boxing