Members Newsletter Apr 13

Poseidon Amateur Boxing Club is delighted to announce that only five weeks after
opening its doors for the very first time, it has welcomed its 100th member. Mickayla
Adams (pictured inset) was awarded the iconic Club t-shirt to mark the century.
Mickayla, a fitness enthusiast, followed her younger brother Jamie into the Club having
noted his enjoyment for the junior sessions and thought she would give the senior
sessions a try - she is now one of the Club’s regulars!
Poseidon ABC launched on 6th February 2013 having
received a £25,000 grant and considerable support from
Eastleigh Borough Council. The funding facilitated the
conversion of an empty void space on the first floor of
the Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie Stand at The Ageas Bowl
into a state of the art boxing gym.
Poseidon’s launch coincided with that of the
Hampshire Cricket Community Trust which was
established in association with Eastleigh Borough
Council to promote sporting and leisure
opportunities in the county and the surrounding
area as well as increase engagement within the
local community. Poseidon ABC was the first
project to significantly benefit from the Trust and
has gone from strength to strength. Former Great
Britain boxer and Club Chairman, Lucy O’Connor
said: “Thanks to the support and partnership of the Trust and
Eastleigh Borough Council, our facilities at The Ageas Bowl are first class
giving people in the local community a great opportunity to enjoy the many benefits that
boxing training can offer.”
Having heard about our launch on
the local news, members of the PE
department
from
Woodlands
Community
College
asked
Poseidon
to
deliver
an
‘introduction to boxing’ to a
selection of their students. On 1st
March
Poseidon
coaches
delivered a 90 minute boxing taster
session to 30 year 10 students
including boys and girls. Whilst
many of the participants said they
found it hard work, they enjoyed
the experience and some of the
students, many of them girls, are
now regular members at Poseidon.
The session went down so well
that many more students have
requested the same opportunity,
so Poseidon will return to
Woodlands after school on the
3rd, 10th and 17th May to deliver
more grass roots taster sessions.
Eastleigh Borough Council have
confirmed the availability of
funding for Poseidon ABC to run a
number of boxactive projects in
local schools and colleges over
the next 12 months. The project
will offer 10-15 students in each
establishment the opportunity to
learn the basics of non-contact
boxing for one hour a week for
eight weeks with the opportunity to
join Poseidon at the end of the
project if they wish to continue
their boxing journey. Keep an eye
on our website for more details.
Poseidon are forging close links
with our local constabulary to help
to identify those who could most
benefit from the activities we offer.
Local bobbies are spreading the
word about our Club and
encouraging young people to get
off the streets
and do
something
active.
Running to Save Amelia-May
Poseidon coaches plan to run from Brighton to
Liverpool to raise money for
Amelia-Mae’s much
needed treatment.
Amelia-Mae Davies is a
beautiful 2 year old girl who is
suffering
from
stage
4
Neuroblastoma.
She
is
extremely ill and is in desperate
need of treatment.
The
treatment is not available in this
country but is available in the
USA but she needs a
staggering £250,000 in order to
fund her trip and the treatment.
Her cousin, John Murray who is
a serving member of the Royal
Navy
and
a
Poseidon
Committee member and a team
of his friends, including fellow
Poseidon committee members
and coaches Dave McElwee
and Paul Ormston, are planning
to run from Brighton to
Liverpool (Alderhey Children's
Hospital) between the 28 Jun 4 Jul 2013. They will run the
entire 240 miles in only 6 days
which is the equivalent to
running
nearly 10 back to back
marathons in under a week.
Please give Amelia-Mae a
chance of life by sponsoring
John and his team on this
mammoth quest by making a
donation via their just giving
page below:
http://www.justgiving.com/Runf
orAmeliaMae
Or you can help her by sharing
her story with everyone you
know. Millie's mum Angela said,
"Our beautiful gentle daughter is
fighting for her life. On her second
birthday, just two days before she
was
diagnosed
with
neuroblastoma, AmeliaMae told us she wanted
her party guests to be
two kittens, a rabbit and
a hamster. She adores
her big brother Carl, and
all we hope for our baby
is that she is given the
opportunity to beat this
terrible disease and
have the best chance
of survival. The more
people we can reach the more
chance we have of meeting our
£250,000 target and getting
Amelia to the United States for
treatment. We can't do this
without you! I ask everyone who
reads this to do whatever they can
to give our baby the chance to
grow up."
To read more about AmeliaMae’s plight or about the
Neuroblastoma Alliance see their
facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages
/Amelia-Mae-DaviesNeuroblastoma-Alliance/5065
Women’s Boxercise Classes at Poseidon
The success of the inaugural Great Britain women’s boxing
team at the London 2012 Olympics went a very long way to
breaking down any barriers and stigmas attached to
women’s participation in the sport. If you are a woman who
is looking for a unique, enjoyable and effective way to get fit,
lose weight and tone the body, then give our women’s
boxercise class a try. Our non-contact workout involves boxing
style circuit training delivered by ex-Great Britain boxer Lucy
O’Connor and the Poseidon team and experience the many
benefits that boxing training can offer. Join us at Poseidon
every Wednesday 1830 - 1930, only £3.50 per session.
Poseidon ABC is overjoyed at the
popularity of the Club after less than
two months of opening. Having
already hit the century for attendees,
this is due in no small part to the
support of our venue The Ageas Bowl
and
The
Hampshire
Cricket
Community Trust (HCCT) with whom
we are partnered. HCCT is a new
charitable
community
initiative
established in association with
Eastleigh Borough Council to
promote
sporting
and
leisure
opportunities in local area and the
wider county as well as to increase
Hampshire
Cricket
Club’s
engagement with the community.
Poseidon ABC is the first project to
greatly benefit from this initiative
having been offered a home in the
impressive Ageas Bowl and enjoying
ongoing support as the club
blossoms.
As we welcome the cricket season we
are required to remind our members
that we share the venue with our
cricketing brethren in a location that
sees regular high profile cricket
matches. To that end each member
will be issued with a Poseidon ABC
membership card in order to identify
them to Ageas Gate Security staff on
match days to ensure access to the
boxing gym. There are several one
day international matches over the
summer period which, due to the
considerable numbers of spectators,
means that Poseidon will be closed.
These closure dates are listed in the
box to the right and members are
asked to make a note of these dates
in their diaries.
Poseidon thanks VK gym for sponsoring team kit
Poseidon Amateur Boxing Club would like
to thank Pete Martin at VK Gym, Bognor
Regis for very kindly sponsoring our team
t-shirts and coaches tracksuits. The t-shirts
have given Poseidon essential ‘espirit de
corps’ within the team, helping to create an
unusually strong bond between our
members in such a short period of time.
VK gym is situated in Durban Road,
Bognor Regis is a state of the art boxing
gym and is home to Bognor ABC. With two
championship rings, numerous punch
bags, weight training equipment and CV
machines, this facility rivals any in the
South of England. VK also offers fitness
classes, women only boxercise, MMA and
personal training. To find out more about
VK Gym see www.vkgym.co.uk or call
Charlie on 01243 862279 or email
charlie@vkgym.co.uk.
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Sunday 2nd June 2013
Tuesday 27th Aug 2013
Wednesday 28th Aug 2013
Thursday 29th Aug 2013
Sunday 15th Sept 2013
Monday 16th Sept 2013
Eastleigh Borough Council’s
Park Sport initiative aims to offer
young people the opportunity to
try new sports and engage in a
fit a healthy lifestyle for free.
Poseidon will offer boxing as
one of the activities and will be
coaching across the county
over the summer months. Park
sports will run between 29 July
& 25 August at the following
times and locations:
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Tues 1630-1730 - Ageas
Weds 1630-1730 - Ageas
Thurs 1600-1700 -Bursledon
Fridays 1400-1500 - Hamble
See our web site for more
details
Poseidon junior’s coach, Paul Ormston is set to become a
Senior boxing coach whilst Head Coach Stuart O’Connor
selected to coach England team at forthcoming International
Three Nation Schoolboy’s Championships
Paul Ormston, Poseidon’s junior’s coach
(pictured below left), recently completed the
first part of his Level 3 ABA Senior Coaches
course in Tamworth, impressing with his
coaching presence, physiological knowledge
and coaches eye. Paul, a talented boxer has
won numerous Combined Service titles at a
number of different weights, is equally
talented in a coaching capacity. Earmarked
for the Royal Navy
head coach position, our junior members are
lucky to benefit from such an experienced mentor and we
wish him luck for his final assessment. Meanwhile
Poseidon Head Coach, Stuart O’Connor (pictured top
right) continues with his International duties having been
selected to coach the England team at the forthcoming
Three Nations Schoolboy Championships in Scotland, 2528 April 2013. This tournament sees the most talented
schoolboy boxers from England, Scotland and Wales
compete for the prestigious Three Nations Title and
inevitable selection for further International duties with
England and Great Britain.
Club T-Shirt
Club Beanie Hat
Iconic Poseidon Club Tshirt - be part of the Club
Grab Poseidon woolly
hat in club colours.
One size fits all.
£10
£8
Club Tracksuit
Club Polo Shirt
Poseidon tracksuit in
club colours available in
junior and senior sizes.
Smart Poseidon polo
shirt in club colours in
sizes S - XL
From £35
£20
Club Hoodie
Club Gilet
Poseidon hoodie in
club colours available in
sizes S-XL
Luxurious down gilet in
Poseidon club colours
available XS-XXL
£20
£37.99
To purchase team merchandise contact either Stuart or Lucy O’Connor on the details at
the front of this newsletter or see Merchandise section on www.poseidonabc.co.uk
‘Unladylike’ is a film documentary which
looks at the history of female boxing, its
recent growth in popularity and the
prevailing criticism surrounding the
sport. It documents the struggle outside
of the ring faced by women wanting to
participate in their chosen sport
alongside their male colleagues and the
societal, legal and media prejudice that
they have faced in order to do so.
Following the success of the female
boxing competition in the London
Olympics and its subsequent rise in
popular appeal, more girls and women
are joining the sport than ever before but
have things really changed? Influential
figures in the media and the boxing world
still argue that the age-old art of pugilism
is not for women, and that those
choosing it are deviant or ‘unladylike’.
Story-spider productions comprises a
team of emerging women filmmakers.
Melanie Brown and Anna Patton visited
Poseidon to talk with our female boxers
about their experiences in the sport. In
particular they interviewed Poseidon
Chairman and Coach Lucy O’Connor
about her experiences as one of the
trailblazers in contemporary women’s
amateur boxing. As the first female
boxer in the Royal Navy, the first female
European gold medallist and the Captain
of the first ever Great Britain women’s
boxing team, she has first hand
experience
overcoming barriers,
prejudice and cynicism. You can read
more about the making of ‘unladylike’ on
www.story-spider.com and view the
film’s trailor at http://www.storyspider.com/#!films/c66t which features
our very own coach,
John Murray.