Patu Tahi Boxing Club has successfully applied for funding to retain two pivotal roles (Head Coach and Operations Manager) without whom the club would not be able to operate. The Head Coach is a Fully Accredited Boxing Coach, licensed with the New Zealand Boxing Coaches Association. The current Operations Manager already works in this role voluntarily and has done so for the past five years, but the club has recently experienced massive growth, requiring over 30 hours per week just to manage administrative affairs and logistics. NZCT is pleased to announce a grant of $20,000 towards paying their salaries. Together, the Head Coach and Operations Manager put in 50 hours a week to keep the club going, not including travel time for weekends due to tournaments.
Funding these roles means that the development of boxers and growth the club is experiencing among the tamariki and rangatahi in the local community will be sustained. Coach Kim-Maree Larby commented: “Our club has developed a great reputation within our community. We not only are passionate about boxing, we are also passionate about the kids we coach three times a week. We have helped the Life Education Trust with their fundraising efforts, coaching over 80 adults over four years to help prepare them for the Life Ed's biggest fundraiser in this region. Those fundraisers gained Life Ed close to $150,000 over four years. All the time and coaching our club contributed voluntarily because we have a passion to see the kids in our region have the best resources at their fingertips.
“The funding has been allocated to Coaching and our Operations Manager Kylie and the biggest benefit will be the opportunity for greater growth in skill levels among our current boxers and for new tamariki and rangatahi to join our club. Having a dedicated Coach role means our kids have a Coach that has the time to not only physically coach them in the gym, but someone who is able to up-skill herself and the probationary coaches within our gym.
“Our Coach will also now be able to take the time to plan sessions with a focus on one-on-one development. Having an employed Operations Manager means that someone will always be available for all our kids and club administration needs. Our admin functions of the club have always been voluntary, but now with dedicated time and funding put towards the role, we will now have the time to manage upwards of 30 kids and five coaches, training camps, sparring days, tournaments and travels.
“Our club is incredibly grateful for the funding received from NZCT, which will help us to achieve one of our core values to help transform the lives of young people in our community to become positive young athletes with confidence, resilience, self-esteem and humility through learning the sport of Amateur Boxing."