{"id":457702,"date":"2026-02-04T11:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/457702\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T11:16:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:16:13","slug":"throwing-punches-sask-teen-boxer-havanna-demers-has-her-eyes-on-youth-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/457702\/","title":{"rendered":"Throwing punches: Sask. teen boxer Havanna Demers has her eyes on Youth Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Inside a Saskatoon boxing gym, Havanna Demers moves across the floor quickly, throwing punches with intent, control and precision.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 16-year-old regularly trains in her hometown of Rapid View, Sask., a small community west of Meadow Lake, or about 260 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. But her hard work and dedication is taking her places on the national and international stages.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A two-time national medallist and four-time Saskatchewan provincial champion, Havanna has been selected to represent Canada at the World Boxing Futures Cup in March in Bangkok \u2014 a key qualifying event for the Youth Olympic Games later this year in Dakar, Senegal. <\/p>\n

The Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d Havanna said in an interview with CBC Radio’s Saskatoon Morning. \u201cI\u2019m proud of myself for getting this far. It\u2019s exciting \u2014 but it’s going to be a lot of work, though it\u2019s going to be high level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Havanna first laced up her gloves at seven years old, after following her sister into martial arts. What started as curiosity quickly turned into passion.<\/p>\n

\"AHavanna Demers has medals from the provincial and national levels in boxing. (Theresa Kliem\/CBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not just going in there and fighting,\u201d she said. \u201cBoxing is a science: different strategies for different opponents, different styles. That\u2019s what I like most about it \u2014 how technical it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Havanna spent six days at Boxing Canada\u2019s national training centre in Montreal, sparring against national champions and medallists from across the country.<\/p>\n

One coach described her style as \u201cawkward\u201d \u2014 but as an advantage rather than a flaw.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Father-daughter boxing duo from northern Sask. pack a punch:\"\"<\/p>\n

Father-daughter boxing duo from northern Sask. pack a punch<\/p>\n

Havanna Demers, 16, is getting attention at the national level for her skills in the ring, thanks in part to coaching by her father, Quenten Demers.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wasn’t sure if she wanted to fix it or enhance it. And she was leaning towards enhancing it. And that felt really awesome,\u201d Havanna said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her father, Quenten Demers, runs Demers Boxing in Rapid View. He is her head coach, manager and biggest supporter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m there for every round, every drop of sweat,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re on this journey together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ABoxing is a family affair for Havanna. Her dad Quenten runs Demers Boxing in their home community. He is also Havanna\u2019s head coach and manager. (Theresa Kliem\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Quenten boxed at a high level himself, but said watching his daughters’ achievements (Havanna’s sister Isabella also boxes) has been emotional.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see them achieve things that I couldn\u2019t \u2014 it\u2019s an absolute dream come true,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Havanna’s] six feet tall. Most girls in her division are 5-4, 5-5,\u201d he said. \u201cShe has reach. But more than that, she has grit. You can\u2019t train that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Havanna’s rise hasn\u2019t come without challenges.<\/p>\n

Finding competition in Saskatchewan can be difficult, often forcing her to travel to Alberta or B.C. for fights. Most of her sparring partners are male.<\/p>\n

But her father said that\u2019s changing.<\/p>\n

“Things are changing in Western Canada,” he said. “Saskatchewan promotes and endorses, so if there’s any girls who want to achieve what Havanna is doing, they have every opportunity.”<\/p>\n

Havanna is already passing that momentum forward, coaching younger boxers in her community.<\/p>\n

This year, she made the decision to skip the national championships in Calgary \u2014 and thus potentially the world championships in China \u2014 to fully focus on qualifying for the Youth Olympics.<\/p>\n

World championships happen every year. The Youth Olympics are just every four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s once in a lifetime,\u201d Quenten said. \u201cSo we\u2019re rolling the dice and going for the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThailand is the first step,\u201d Havanna said. \u201cI\u2019m going to train really hard, fight hard \u2014 and hopefully get there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-457702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}