Amateur Boxing - Hastings West Hill

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Rounding off the 2008/9 season

Chef supremo Mat We finished the 2008/2009 boxing season with 2 special events and the commencement of our long awaited extension to the existing gym.

Mat McDonnell boxer and film producer supreme along with former boxer and latest qualified coach, Ali Waller arranged a BBQ on the idyllic Hastings East Hill. The festivities were open to anyone and everyone old and new who had a link with the club.

The event was well supported, food was in abundance and the sun shone throughout. Parents, past boxers and coaches alike rolled back the years to participate in cricket, baseball, football and british bulldog.

Some got a little over exited and completely forgot their age, only to suffer the following day - but all agreed the pain was worth it!


Well supported the event turned out to be a most enjoyable day	Ready - here comes a googly!	Do I look mean?

Take me home, I'm tired	"Come on lads, he's only little, he'll never catch us"	British bulldog! Still great fun whatever your age.

Bob Bristow, father of boxers George, Ollie and Henry has spurred his work force into action to build the new gym extension. As is often the case with very old buildings, progress has been hampered, and unfortunately the "East Wing" of the gym, as Bob likes to call it, had to be demolished in order that a more substantial footing could be poured in situ before work to extend the building could continue.

As a result the build is over budget and if it were not for Bob's generosity in doing much of the work at cost we could not expect to see a positive end result - Thanks for your fantastic efforts Bob, which are much appreciated by all at the club and will benefit many in the years to come, your leaving a proud legacy!

The club needs to raise an additional £40,000 to upgrade the gym interior so if you have any ideas or have cash laying around please, please contact us as we would appreciate any and all support!


Some seriously large steels are now in place.	New footings have been poured.	The new external wall to the east wing is finished.

The old changing room has been demolished.	The site for the new changing rooms, male, female and disabled.	Front elevation open and ready for new extension.

The prize giving evening was held at the Silverhill Club on Saturday August 22nd, and as always the event was well supported and very enjoyable, with the karaoke and disco being a huge source of entertainment.

The M.C.for the evening was Dave Harris who had ensured that many boxers of yesteryear were in attendance to support the present batch. Dave made a special point of thanking the committee members for their continued management of the club, Dennis Attrell for her tireless fund raising and all the club coaches for their extensive efforts.

Also on Dave's "Thank you" list were Trevor Foster, father of boxer Liam Foster for his fantastic fund raising efforts throughout the year, Mat McDonnell for filming both club shows and supplying this website with an abundance of photographs and for, in partnership with new coach Ali Waller, organising a club barbecue. He further thanked Bob Bristow for his fantastic efforts building the extension and the ladies (Lisa, Anita, Angela and June) who clubbed together to organise the food for the prize giving event.

The prizes were awarded as follows:

Junior Awards

Minor boxer of the season – Rhys Verlander In his first full season Rhys showed maturity beyond his years and consistently performed to a very high level, demonstrating excellent ring craft throughout. Arguably his best performance during the season was his 2nd bout and 2nd win against C. Wilson of Adur ABC on the Horsham ABC show where his performance was described by his coach Gary White as near flawless. Well done Rhys, keep up the good work, an exciting future beckons.

Junior club boy – George Edwards Junior club boy for 2009 was awarded to a lad who enjoys the camaraderie of his fellow club mates above anything, so much so that he never misses an opportunity to attend extra training or club social events and is always found at the centre of the group laughing and joking. Liked by all for his individualism and keen sense of humour, it was a gutsy performance on our home show that gained George additional respect from fellow boxers and coaches. With a cheeky smile he coined the phrase “You’ve got to man up” and he certainly had to do just that, when he stuck in and fought for his pride against an onslaught from tough Asher Wilson of Islington ABC.

Furthest in a national junior competition - Steve Hill The award for furthest boxer in a national junior competition went to a young man who made it all the way to the Junior ABA Novice Final, in which he was distraught to lose by just 1 point, the final score being 3 to 2 in favour of his opponent Joe McBride of Redcar ABC. It was an excellent achievement and should Steve decide to continue his boxing career we are sure there are titles ahead. We hope this award rekindles his enthusiasm and we see him back in full time training next season.

Best junior bout – Tony Gregory The best junior bout award was presented to a lad for contesting his debut bout, which is very rare! However such was the quality of the bout Tony contested against Archie Hutchinson of Horsham ABC that many spectators were in disbelief that he, the winner of the bout, had never boxed previously. He has made rapid improvement in a short space of time and that improvement was reflected in his performance. His coach Dave Bishop is expecting great things for him in the future. Unfortunately Tony and his family were unable to attend the evening as they were on holiday, so Tony will be awarded his trophy at the club when the new season begins.

Best junior performance – Conner Sime The best junior performance award was presented to a lad that contested his award winning bout way back on our first home show in 2008 when he took on and beat West ham ABC’s classy southpaw Jimmy McDonagh. In that bout Conner demonstrated what can be achieved through dedicated training, out working his opponent throughout. It was an excellent display of controlled aggression and pressure boxing. His season unfortunately has been somewhat disrupted since that bout as he suffered a nasty knee injury, caused basically by over doing it! No doubt he will be back fighting fit for the new season and on the title trail.

Most promising junior boxer – Liam Foster This award is being presented to a lad who in his debut bout was presented the “Best bout of the night” award at the Canterbury ABC show in May of this year. He followed that winning performance with a second excellent display on our recent home show, which again was a contender for bout of the night. With an all action style he is set to impress for many years to come and is without doubt one to watch. Unfortunately Liam and his family were unable to attend the evening as they were on holiday, so Liam will be awarded his trophy at the club when the new season begins.

Most improved junior boxer – Henry Bristow Similar to the Minor boxer of the year and Most promising junior boxer award the Most improved junior boxer award was presented to another lad who has just finished his first season of boxing. For Henry the journey into boxing didn’t get off to the best of starts as he lost his first 4 bouts. However with persistence and determination and the encouragement of his coach Ian Bourner he turned his season around and made massive improvement in a short space of time, ending the season with 4 wins from 4 bouts.

Junior boxer of the year - Kyle Logan One of the clubs most well liked and laid back characters was the winner of the Junior boxer of the year award. In terms of titles it was a frustrating year for Kyle as he lost to the same lad in both competitions he entered, both bouts being closely contested, with his opponent progressing to the latter stages; however titles beckon for this lad, with continued dedication it’s simply a matter of time! His season started slowly but by the end of the season he was performing consistently at his very best either stopping his foes or systematically taking them apart and winning clear points decision. When the coaches sat down to discuss nominees for the award Kyle received a unanimous vote.

Senior Awards

Senior club man – Barry Buchanan Although suffering a serious injury that wrecked most of his season culminating in major surgery Barry never swayed from his focus of being back in the ring. After exactly 12 months on the sideline he stepped back through the ropes and ended his season in knockout style! If the dictionary term for club captain were “One who leads by example” then in the subscript it should list Barry Buchanan.

Furthest senior boxer - Jake Towse The young man who has won this award must have wondered what he had to do at times this season to get his just rewards, reaching 2 national quarter finals and a national semi final, all in which he boxed superbly, only to lose all 3 by majority decisions. However the mark of Jake's commitment is that he has been working hard during the off season to reach an even higher level and ensure his bouts are clear wins. He has his sights set on reaching the top and we believe he has every chance of fulfilling any ambition he sets himself.

Best senior bout – Ben White Although working away for most of the season, spending more time in a caravan than his own bed and having to do much of his training at gyms close to his employment, Ben was still able to turn in some excellent performances. None were better than his second bout in a three bout trilogy with Jake Woods of Foley ABC. Taking on Woods in his back yard at the Foley ABC show held at Sandown Park race course and winning by a unanimous points decision.

Most courageous senior boxer – Fred Phelps This season has been a turbulent one for Fred, having spent much of the year in Manchester he returned home after reaching a decision to change his direction in life, whereupon he returned to the gym. With his training early season spasmodic it took him time to settle back in to the gym and get back to the kind of form that earned him the most improved boxer in recent seasons. Committed to his training, Fred pushes himself to the max and that fitness has served him well during some intense battles he has been involved in toward the end of the season, none more so than his bouts with Vitali Marchov and former pro Simon Hopkins, whom he boxed on our last home show. Unfortunately Fred was not able to attend the evening as he is on holiday, so he will be awarded his trophy at the club when the new season begins.

Most promising senior boxer – Daine Finch Chris Eubank famously said that a good jab can take you all round the World and Daine has one of the best! Returning to the ring after several years out, this young man stepped through the ropes for the first time this season on our recent home show. By the time he stepped back out of the ring as victor he had left a huge positive impression on those in attendance.

Most improved senior boxer – Steve Garlick It’s been a huge year for this young man both in and out of the ring! Being self employed in the building industry is no walk in the park and when your responsibilities multiply it doesn’t make life any easier. So setting up home and becoming a father for the first time, whilst keeping his training regime going wasn’t easy! However, not only did he manage to balance his commitments he put his heart and soul into his boxing and reaped the rewards. His improvement has been close to astounding and his coach Gary White is immensely proud of this young man’s progress.

Senior boxer of the year – Jake Towse Jake Towse will doubtless be the youngest ever recipient of this award as he was only 17 at the start of the season. He won 11 of his 14 bouts during the season, boxing several times against the highest level of opposition. He is aiming to become part of the ABA of England set up next season, which will be a great platform for him to achieve his ambitions. Last season under the guidance of his coach Paul Martin he boxed and beat the 25 year old combined services champion, no small feat for a teenager and took the 2 times Irish champion and Commonwealth games bronze medallist to task for 3 of the 4 rounds when they met at Bethnal Green. His persistence and determination are second to none and he is fast becoming a shining example to the younger lads coming through the ranks.