New Kirkcaldy boxing club allows more youngsters to step into ring

Linktown Boxing Club is run by Amy and Paul Deas from their gym on Links Street with the club named after the area it operates from - something they say is important to its success and identity.

Local youngsters have signed up, and the club has gained accreditation to Boxing Scotland.

Mrs Deas: “We’ve been getting a lot of support from the likes of the community centre and the locals have all really come on board”.

“Because we’re doing it all for the community - there’s Linktown Youth Club, Linktown Local, Linktown Nursery – we felt like it just fitted.

A number of kids from the local area have already joined up, and both founders agree that community support has been vital, as they sought to approval from the sport’s governing body in Scotland.

Mr Deas said: “It has been expensive to go through all my courses, but the local community went and got donations. That’s one of the things that impacted on me the most. Even people you wouldn’t expect have come in and donated money”.

“We had all our kits to buy immediately, so it’s taken a bit of pressure off”.

Accreditation also means that the club is now in a better position to create a pathway for young boxers.

And it is already looking forward to its first championship competition in November, with a number of their fighters seen as potential prospects.

According to Mr. Deas, he’s hopeful that the competition will see the gym bring back at least a couple of medals adding: “Seven out of the seven going to the championships have a chance.”

The club is open to boxers from all walks of life, with a wide range of ages taking part in both kids and adult classes. The founders also have high hopes for their female contingent.

Mr. Deas explains: “We’ve got a strong female group. I feel like we’ll do really well with the girls, and it’s getting more popular now”.

The association with Boxing Scotland also gives members the chance to see how things are done at other club visited - and those trips have allowed Mr Deas to see with his own eyes that his boxers can hold their own in the ring.

He said: “I’ve been able to take them to different clubs and it’s been a case of ‘wow! I can see that they’re standing out”.”

The club is now be looking forward to seeing how far its boxers can go, with international recognition the ultimate aim. Accreditation also opens the door to Scottish and Team GB squads - something Mr Deas said would have been difficult previously.

Her added: “There’s a certain pathway you can go down for getting picked for the Scotland team and the GB team.

“It’s up to them now to go and do the work, and they could even get picked up by the Commonwealth and Olympic teams.”