Bexhill Boxing Club enjoying completely transformed facilities

Bexhill Boxing Club boxers and coaches at the club's completely refurbished gym

The club has turned an ageing building at Bexhill Squash Club into a smart-looking gym for the many young boxers on its books.

Towards the end of 2017 and into 2018, Bexhill Boxing Club was in the process of taking on the lease of the old Bexhill Squash Club building as the squash club had kindly agreed to transfer the lease over to the boxing club.

See also: * Ricky Hatton: Ex-world champion coming to Hastings* Bexhill United pegged back in third versus fourth clash* Hastings & Bexhill beat Lewes to move off bottom of tableAlthough this was great news for the boxing club, it also had its own ‘baggage’. The squash club itself was very run down and needed some significant work to ensure that it continued to be fit for use.

A look at the new facilities in the Bexhill Boxing Club gym

With their eyes set on transforming the squash club into a fully functioning boxing club, the boxing club decided to enter into the 2017 Aviva Community Fund.

The boxing club was pitched against thousands of other groups and organisations across the country who were also determined to secure funding.

To reach the finals of the Aviva Community Fund, the boxing club was reliant on receiving as many votes as possible to get into the top eight of its category.

Thanks to the support it received from the local community and wider, the club made the finals and was subsequently chosen by the judges as one of the winners. This secured the club £23,000 and allowed it to improve the facility as a whole.

Another section of the impressive refurbishment

The club aimed to use the funding to resolve the key issues affecting it to ensure that it could remain open in the short term.

This included replacing much of the electrics, repairing/replacing the internal ceilings and fixing the rear exterior of the building, where previous weather damage had caused all of the cladding to fall off.

Over the course of 2018 the club used the funding to resolve all of these issues. With help from various people and organisations, the club managed to improve the interior decoration and its facilities as a whole while keeping costs to a minimum.

Bexhill Boxing Club would specifically like to thank the club volunteers, committee members and coaches, along with the people of Bexhill and the surrounding areas for their support.

How the venue used to look before the squash courts were converted into a boxing gym

The club also had excellent support from Phase Electrical Distributors, Moore & Saunders Electrical Contractors, Stamco Timber Supplies, Parker Building Supplies, Phoenix Carpentry, Eastman Drylining, Sam Bull (Secure Care UK), Rother Voluntary Action, Build Yourself Program, The Co Op, MJG Autos, Tony Carroll and Hastings Direct.

All of these organisations, along with many individuals, have helped the club get to where it is today.

Bexhill Boxing Club is the only England Boxing-affiliated club in the town, which is important for the club itself and the local community.

The England Boxing affiliation ensures that the highest coaching and safeguarding standards are in place as the club is required to adhere to England Boxing rules.

The old roof at the venue before the refurbishment works were carried out

It also enables those interested in competing to have an access route into official England Boxing competitions and even the Olympics - this cannot be provided by clubs not affiliated to England Boxing.

A club spokesman said: “Now that we have secured a long-term lease for the club and improved the premises, we can hopefully provide a long-term service to those within the town who are looking for an inexpensive way to keep fit, or an access route into boxing.”