Never Surrender Boxing Health and Fitness in Thames looking to expand with new facility

The Never Surrender Boxing Health and Fitness committee includes Andrew Connaughton (left, treasurer), Shannen Middleton (club secretary) and Shaun George (president).

A Thames gymnasium with humble roots is expanding and looking to build a new facility.

Never Surrender Boxing Health and Fitness was born in a Thames garage more than 15 years ago and now operates on Pollen St as an incorporated society on a not-for-profit basis with 200 members.

Club treasurer Andrew Connaughton said the club ran weekly classes for tamariki, rangatahi, seniors and wahine.

The club was keen to build a new facility that would have the capacity to host boxing events, he said.

“At present, we have a simple boxing club set up with a boxing ring, punch bags, exercise bikes and basic weights.

“We are working with elite athletes and previous New Zealand medal winners to provide further coaching to our community, promising potential sporting stars of the future.”

Connaughton said the club was active on the North Island circuit, but limited facilities held it back from hosting events.

“For example, last weekend our coaches, amateur boxers and their families travelled to Taupō to compete, then we will be off to Auckland, then Tauranga, then Hamilton.

“Although we live in the centre of this ‘golden triangle’, we are unable to host our own event due to lack of facilities; by building a new facility we will then be able to do so.

“We will then be able to invite boxers, their coaches, and family and fans into the Thames-Coromandel district to come to visit our club, community and spend time and money in our community.”

While the club was committed to providing Thames youth with free access to coaching and equipment, three years ago it was formalised and was now funded via various groups, organisations and individuals, he said.

“We are now funded by various routes; we have previously applied for funds from gambling trusts and Grassroots.

“We have received funding from the Community Organisation Grants Scheme, we have also been fortunate to receive funding by Sport New Zealand, via Sport Waikato.

“We also do a lot of volunteering in the community; our members volunteer to work as security at pubs in our community to raise funds, we also volunteer as sober drivers over the Christmas period for various organisations.

“We volunteer as ‘pairs of strong arms’ for various organisations and we are also very fortunate to have support from several businesses and people in our wider community.”

The tamariki class at Never Surrender Boxing Health and Fitness.

Connaughton said he became involved with the club about four years ago, aged 48.

“I wanted to pack up smoking, I had been a pack a day smoker for 30 years, but with young kids it was time to pack it up.

“So, I wanted to find a sport I could get involved in, to distract me from the withdrawals of smoking.”

He found the club on social media and, with a background in finance in Britain, made the progression to club treasurer.

“It all began 15 years ago when a friend of Shaun George, Brock Corbett, the local Thames policeman, signed up for a charity boxing match and needed someone to train him.

“Shaun was the ideal choice for a trainer, as Shaun comes from the George family, who are a well-known family in the New Zealand boxing world.

“Shaun began training Brock and a few others in his garage at home, which he converted into a little boxing gym. The Never Surrender Club was born and has continued to grow from that point, having now trained three of the local police force, along with a multitude of other people from our community over the years.

“Shaun’s passion for boxing and the teaching of his beloved sport is unrivalled; he fully understands how many positive aspects of boxing can be applied to many facets of other people’s lives, to assist in improving their own physical and mental wellbeing.”

A wahine class is one of the offerings at the Thames club.

With the initial success in his garage, George took on a few younger enthusiasts.

Notably, Tamsyn Benny, who through hard work and determination, had risen through the New Zealand amateur ranks to represent the country.

It culminated in her achieving medal success for New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia.

Francis Waitai, another success story of the Never Surrender Club, began training as a young novice and grew into a New Zealand champion.

Waitai rose through the ranks to become the undefeated New Zealand amateur champion, successfully representing the country as an amateur on several occasions.

Waitai’s success with the club allowed him to turn professional and he is now the current undefeated super middleweight New Zealand champion and the WBC Australasia silver belt titleholder.

Waitai still trains weekly at the club, providing guidance and mentoring younger members.

Connaughton said George’s boxing knowledge was unparalleled.

“But he isn’t the greatest at paperwork, I noted that Shaun needed help to get funds so he could get equipment for the kids and keep the club going.

“For me it was a no-brainer, if Shaun had already committed a decade to helping people, all the while struggling for money and help, the very least I could do would be to provide my time and expertise to assist him in ensuring his dream continued.

“So, I made him a promise that I would help ensure the formal creation and growth of the club and we would drive this to assist as many people as possible in our community, driven by his passion.”

Connaughton said the gym remained committed to providing access to a club, coaching and equipment to the community based on a koha/affordability basis.

“We are committed to providing the community’s wahine, tamariki and rangatahi with free access; we are aware of the pressure on families today and that many children can’t access sports, due to the costs involved.

“We feel it is important to provide our youth with access to a sport, without financial restraints. Along with free training, we provide items such as gloves, mitts, pads, and headgear – everything is free.

“We recognise that Thames and the Hauraki district is an economically deprived area. Thames is at the very low end of the income scale with an average mean income of $21,900, meaning many in our community don’t have the funds to pay to access sport, whereas we offer free equipment and training thus ensuring ‘access for all’ to get active and participate in an activity which is beneficial to their physical and mental wellbeing.

“We will continue to work with others within our community to utilise the new bigger space and are looking to start new classes to encourage our more senior members in our community to get active. We also have plans for new programmes for people who struggle to get active, and weight loss programmes.”