\n Mainsforth Amateur Boxing and Fitness Club in Ferryhill has been named among the top three clubs in England for community impact at the 2026 England Boxing Annual Awards.\n<\/p>\n
\n Founder Richard O\u2019Neill, 39, opened the gym in November 2022 after stepping away from amateur and professional boxing.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mainsforth Amateur Boxing and Fitness Club in Ferryhill (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n He said he was driven by a desire to create something positive for his non-verbal autistic daughter and other children in the area.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cI opened the gym solely on the back of my little girl being autistic and non-verbal, to help children.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mainsforth Amateur Boxing and Fitness Club in Ferryhill (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI wanted to build something that would give young people support, structure and a safe place to come.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Based in what he describes as a \u201cdeprived area\u201d, the club has quickly grown from a single room into a multi-space facility with four qualified coaches and a wide range of sessions for people of all ages.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr O\u2019Neill said the recognition reflects the work being done to steer young people away from trouble and down a more positive path.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cWe have put younger lads through who had no direction and got them on the path to getting qualified, getting safeguarded and becoming coaches themselves.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mainsforth Amateur Boxing and Fitness Club in Ferryhill (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThey were once just in the gym and now they are working within it and helping others.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe are getting kids off the streets, giving them discipline and getting them on the right track in life. It is about being part of a team and building something together.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The club now delivers sessions up to six days a week, including amateur boxing classes, one-to-one training, and community gym access for older members.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mainsforth Amateur Boxing and Fitness Club in Ferryhill (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n It has also recently been approved as an alternative education provider, working with Durham County Council to support children excluded from mainstream school.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr O\u2019Neill said: \u201cWe have students coming in and we teach them real life skills like the risks of alcohol and drugs, social media awareness, sex education and managing finances.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mainsforth Amateur Boxing and Fitness Club in Ferryhill (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt is about giving them what they need to cope outside of school as well as inside the gym.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Alongside its regular programme, the club runs holiday sessions offering activities and food for children, aiming to support families during school breaks.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mainsforth Amateur Boxing and Fitness Club in Ferryhill (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n Mainsforth Amateur Boxing and Fitness Club in Ferryhill (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n Reflecting on the national recognition, Mr O\u2019Neill said: \u201cTo be in the top three out of around 1,000 clubs in England is massive. It shows that all the hard work is getting noticed.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt means a lot because it proves we are helping people and changing lives. That is what it is all about.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n He also paid tribute to those who have supported the club\u2019s growth.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cIt is a team effort. To all our sponsors, volunteers and parents – we would not be where we are without them.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Winners of the England Boxing Annual Awards will be announced at a ceremony in Sheffield later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mainsforth Amateur Boxing and Fitness Club in Ferryhill has been named among the top three clubs in England…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-671400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}