St Michael’s Amateur Boxing Club
Trustee Annual Report
For the year 1[st] February 2021 to 31[st] January 2022
Annual Report for the year ended 31[st] January 2022
The trustees of St Michael’s Amateur Boxing Club are pleased to submit their report and accounts for the year 1st February 2020 to 31st January 2022
Club Details
Address
Unit 18, Tully Business Park, Springbank Way, Belfast, Co. Antrim, BT17 0QL
Charity Commission Number:
NIC102461
Trustees
Joe Pollock
Sean Ward
Gerard Murphy
Darren Pollock
(NB: Those named above are the charity trustees on the date of the report, and served as the charity trustees during the year)
Governing Document and Constitution
The club is a charity registered with the Northern Ireland Charity Commission, and is governed by a constitution adopted on the 12[th] August 2014.
The club is run entirely by volunteers, and currently has no paid members of staff.
Purpose of the Charity
On establishment, St Michael’s ABC was set up with a dual purpose:
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To create opportunities for people to participate in boxing and to become champions in the boxing ring
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To help local people tackle some of the complex personal and social issues they experience in their lives.
Achievements and Performance
In 2021 we’ve tried to focus our efforts on the club’s recovery from the Covid 19 pandemic. The year brought long periods where St Michael’s ABC was shut, which had a huge, negative impact on the club. Thus, we’ve been working hard to re-engage lost boxers while concurrently attracting some new members.
Across February and March 2021, the club remained shut, but following approval from the IABA, we restarted with some outdoor activity in the middle of April. Although this was far from ideal, it was a much-needed boost for the club and our members. We were eventually able to move back into the unit for normal training, and by October we had boxers re-involved in County Antrim competitions. We also re-introduced sparring sessions with partner clubs such as Star ABC and Tullylish ABC. Plans were also put in place for our first club show in 3 years, scheduled for May 2022 in lamh Dhearg GFC.
With planning permission secured last year for our new building, work continues to engage with our local political reps and to identify suitable funding opportunities to support the build. Opportunities have been extremely limited, but we’ll persist in our search for capital funding in the hope that we can one day operate from a purpose built facility and bring even greater benefits for the community.
Programmes
Boxing:
We recognise that boxing brings a range of health benefits, although we also recognise that the sport offers a broad appeal and various other important values such as discipline, respect, selfcontrol, identity and a sense of belonging. For those who want to, we support them to participate in boxing shows and events, and we already have a number of members who have won junior and senior championships, both on a County and all-Island basis. As well as teaching our members a range of boxing skills, we also see the sport as a tool for inclusion and development. We have continued to deliver small scale female programmes, but remain restricted in creating full time activity given our facility shortfalls. This will grow to something more permanent when we eventually move to a new building.
Fitness and Exercise Programmes:
We continued to run fitness and exercise programmes for adults which incorporate boxing elements but remain non-contact. These sessions provide a full body workout through various boxing movements which improve fitness, co-ordination, agility, speed, power, muscle definition etc. In some cases we have seen participants move into our contact sessions.
Financial Review
The income figure was £885, and expenditure total £3390. This showed an operating loss of £2505 for the period.
Objectives and Activities
Charitable Objects
The objectives of the club are to promote, educate and assist people of all ages through boxing and other recreational activities so as to develop their physical fitness, mental and emotional capacities so that they may grow to full maturity as individuals and citizens and that their conditions of life may be improved.
Public Benefit Statement
The trustees of St Michael’s Amateur Boxing Club confirm that they have complied with their duties with regard to the Charity Commission’s requirements on public benefit, and that our public benefit statement has informed the activities of the club in the year 1[st] February 2017 to 31[st] January 2018.
Our purpose is based around the provision of boxing and other recreational activities to enhance physical, mental and emotional capacities, regardless of age, ability, disability, religion and ethnic identity. We aim to empower our participants to improve their well-being and life conditions through physical activity. The benefits achievable for those individuals involved include healthier lifestyles, social inclusion and development of skills and physical literacy.
Report Approved on:
Date: 17/11/22
\ Signed: (Joe Pollock, Chairperson)