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 New sensations: The youths give their all under the watchful eye of the seasoned ref |
Some 250 friends and family watched Police Boxing Club youths at work in the recent New Territories North Region Boxing Night. The Club's Danny Lawley reports.
I cannot count the number of occasions colleagues ask why we teach a sport like Boxing to juvenile offenders, many of whom got in trouble through violence in the first place. Are we training 'super thugs', arming them with skills they can use next time they are stopped by Police?
If you had been a spectator at either the Police Officers Club Boxing Smoker in September, or at the NTN Boxing Night on February 3, I hope the Police Boxing Club members' performance dispelled those fears.
There can be few sports better than boxing to show a rowdy and impressionable youth the futility of using your fists to win arguments. Anyone who has ever stepped into a ring will tell you it is a humbling experience, which painfully demonstrates how unlikely you are to get things all your own way. A timely grounding in reality for a generation raised on invincible comic heroes and immortal video game warriors!
Superintendent B.J. Smith and I never realised when we started this venture four years ago on the rooftop of Tai Hing Police Station, with two old pairs of gloves donated by the Special Duties Unit, where things were headed. In truth, the Club's real momentum has come entirely from the 100 or so troubled youths who have walked through the gym doors seeking an alternative to life on the streets. Without their constant and overwhelming enthusiasm, we would have packed up and gone home years ago.
The zest these youngsters rapidly developed for the sport was always astounding and very quickly the volunteer police trainers and coaches were able to instil the important message of self-discipline and a healthy lifestyle. The training is no pushover - three hours of boxing once or twice a week is more than enough to take the aggressive energy out of any would-be street fighter!
The night saw five novice bouts put on for friends and family of the Boxing Club youths. Some 250 people turned up to enjoy a buffet and great boxing, the last three fights being truly first class with some talented young boxers going toe to toe.
"What a great evening that was!" said Blaine Hoggard, NTN Senior Superintendent (Administration), the event's guest of honour and prize presenter. "The high standard of the boxing and professional organisation clearly showed how far the Club has progressed. I was impressed by the dedication of all involved including coaches, referees and boxers alike. The event brought great credit to the Force and feedback on the night was genuinely positive. Most importantly, the event reflected the real advance that Operation Breakthrough has achieved in providing the stimulus for delinquent youths to get back on the right track."
And that, at the end of the day, is what the Club is all about. Providing an interest and a venue for those who have, for whatever reason, fallen foul of the law and who need a little help turning over a new leaf. Judging from the faces of youngsters in the crowd that night, we seem to be getting there.