Cape York Boxing is in fighting form thanks to local support including our #whatsyourReason community grants.
Their gym, which trains up to 20 amateurs from the communities of Napranum, Mapoon and Weipa in the Western Cape has now built a great collection of boxing and fitness equipment including their own portable ring. Combined with five years of quality, low-cost training that Scott Wallace has now provided to the community, athletes are now looking forward to hosting their first fight night on the 22nd July.
Originally launched as a way to get jobseekers fit for Rio Tinto’s “fit for work test”, Scott’s passion has grown the small not-for-profit group into one of Northern Queensland’s key boxing groups.
“It was started with this goal in mind – to engage with our teenagers” Scott said. “We didn’t want them wasting their youth and getting into trouble.”
He has taken athletes to events in Cairns and Townsville and continued to build the skills and fitness of the region and in these ways Cape York Boxing has grown into a focal point for the community.
With a longstanding lease on their home in Weipa, alongside their training equipment and sparring rings, they are building the infrastructure to explore additional training and employment opportunities. Current plans include a small canteen designed to support groups needing extra help into employment to gain work skills and experience.
In the short term however, attention is focussed on the upcoming event. To be held at the Weipa storm surge shelter, with 1000 tickets, food trucks and a liquor licence in place, it is set to be a great drawcard for the region. Boxing groups from across Queensland have eagerly begun planning their trips north and west, bringing extra benefits to the region’s tourism businesses. So for anyone fortunate enough to be in Weipa on 22 July, get along and support this great community organisation.