30 up-and-coming female boxers take part in training camp which includes Q&A session with Olympic medallist Lauren Price and Karriss Artingstall
Last weekend (20 – 22 September 2024) saw GB Boxing host a women’s only boxing camp to support the development of up-and-coming female boxers in England, Scotland, and Wales.
Thirty women representing all three home nations took part in the camp which gave the boxers an opportunity to train and work in the GB Boxing world-class training, facilities under the expert guidance of staff and coaches from the World Class Programme (WCP) for boxing.
The camp, which was overseen by Senior GB Boxing Podium coach, Gary Hale, was developed and delivered in association with the national governing bodies (NGBs) for boxing from England, Scotland and Wales and was designed to support their existing pathway activities and provide high quality training sparring opportunities to support the development of the boxers.
It was a sign of the growing interest in women’s boxing at the grassroots and GB Boxing’s desire to widen the talent pool by creating opportunities for athletes from all backgrounds to progress in the sport.
Under the leadership of Gary Hale, who was supported by GB Boxing Performance Coaches Alanna Murphy and Phil Wilson, the 30 attendees took part in a range of boxing sessions, which covered shadow, pad work and sparring, and a series of runs and a boxing-specific strength and conditioning (S&C) session led by GB Boxing’s S&C Coach, Sam Grady-Graham.
As part of the weekend the boxers got to tale part in a Q&A session with Tokyo 2020 medallists, Lauren Price and Karriss Artingstall.
The pair won gold and bronze respectively at Tokyo 2020 are no longer part of the WCP, having turned professional in 2022, however they are trained and managed by GB Boxing as part of its Podium2Professional (P2P) programme.
In the course of the discussion, Price and Artingstall shared their personal journeys, offered insights into the sport and advised the boxer what it takes to succeed at the highest level.
Price said: “It’s great to see more opportunities like this for female boxers. The support we received on the road to Tokyo was incredible, and it’s fantastic that GB Boxing, along with the home nations, are now putting even more focus on developing young female talent.
“I really enjoyed being able to share my experiences and hopefully it can inspire some to go on and potentially become future Olympic medallists.”
Alongside practical training and inspiration from world-class athletes, the camp also included an educational presentation which will share expertise of sport science within women’s boxing which has been gathered on the programme for over a decade.
The presentation covered a range of topics, including injury prevention, nutrition, recovery techniques, and psychological preparation and will be delivered by Physiologist, Jamie Mitchell, and Performance Nutritionist, Mark Ellison.
By providing opportunities like this camp, GB Boxing and the NGBs for England, Scotland and Wales hope to inspire a new generation of female athletes, while also preparing the current podium and academy boxers for future successes in European, World, and Olympic competitions.
Performance Director Rob McCracken said: “At GB Boxing, we’re committed to creating pathways for female athletes to thrive in the sport, and this camp is a key part of that.
“By providing high-quality training and access to our coaches and support staff, as well as being able to experience what the World Class Programme (WCP) is about we hope it will increase the desire of young women in boxing to pursue this path. We’re excited to see the impact this initiative will have.”
