Off the canvas (From Swindon Advertiser)

Off the canvas

7:40am Thursday 9th February 2012 in Sport By Steve Butt

BOXING in Penhill may have hit the canvas in recent months but one of the locals is desperate to get the punches flying again.

The closure of the Royal British Legion in Penhill saw the area’s boxing club lose it’s home of over three decades.

Penhill ABC trained and fought out of the British Legion premises since 1979 but after the venue was shut in September last year has struggled to survive.

Club stalwart Mick Gillivier is now trying to pick up the pieces after numbers dwindled and reformed Penhill ABC as Swindon ABC.

Gillivier, who boxed for Penhill in the 1980’s, admits he is sad to have to change the name but claims it was necessary.

“Obviously there is a lot of history attached to the name Penhill ABC but there is also a lot of bad feeling associated to it,” said Gillivier.

“It is a shame to have to change the name but every time I mentioned Penhill to anyone they just weren’t interested.

“The club was in dire straights. Numbers had dwindled, we were just getting a handful of boys and the club was not in a good financial state, so I decided to take it over.

“Starting again as Swindon ABC means we can begin from a clean state. It is a new image and we plan to do everything right and get this club thriving again.”

Swindon ABC train at St Luke’s School but Gillivier says it is a far cry from their days at the legion.

“Since we were thrown out of the legion we have trained at St Luke’s.

“We have little money or equipment and we are training without a ring because our old ring is still nailed to the floor at the legion and we can’t get it back.

“We only a have a couple of punch bags and we don’t have any money to buy new equipment.”

The club is now on the up and so is the numbers attending training. But Gillivier is appealing to anyone who can help the club in form of sponsorship or providing any equipment.

“We are looking for any help,” added Gillivier. “If anyone wants to sponsor us or can provide any equipment for us then it would be much appreciated.

“We are also looking to get the club accredited and everything is going to be done in a professional manner. It will be a slow process but I’m confident the future is looking bright for boxing in Penhill now.

“When we were forced out of the legion we only had a handful of boxers training but now we have around 25-30 every night.”

Swindon ABC train on Monday-Thursday from 7pm and are welcoming any new members.

Anyone interested in sponsoring or helping out Swindon ABC should contact Mick Gillivier on 01793 539430 or 07799128576.