Category: Featured Stories

Kingsway Boxing Club’s Commitment To The Responsible Coaching Movement (RCM)

Posted on April 12, 2022April 30, 2022 by Jennifer Huggins

Kingsway Boxing Club has entered the list of Responsible Coaching Movement Champions Recognized By The Coaching Association Of Canada.

At Kingsway Boxing Club, we are committed to maintaining the standards of ethics, safety and respect in the sport of Boxing, for all our athletes and coaches. 💪

By adhering to the Responsible Coaching Movement (RCM), we pledge to work hard everyday to ensure that the Boxing culture at our gym is safe and aligns with the ethics’ model.

To guide sport organizations with resources to embedding safe sport practices, the Coaching Association of Canada has developed a RCM Checklist that includes resources, templates and useful links. 

OUR PLEDGE…

🥊 Kingsway Boxing Club believes in providing everyone with equal opportunity, no matter the fitness level, background, age or size.

🥊 We will work to maintain the high standard of safety and ethics across all of our programs and ensure that the Boxing culture here is as welcoming and safe as possible!

🥊 We will encourage open dialogue between our athletes, coaches and community to ensure we are always improving building stronger and safer interactions.

Kingsway Boxing Club’s Acceptance of the UCCMS

The Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) is a cornerstone in ensuring all stakeholders commit to safety in sport. The universal code of conduct applies to all participants, administrators, athletes, coaches and officials who work within the national sports system in Canada. The universal code of conduct is meant to achieve a safe and welcoming environment for all participants.

Failure To Report

You have a duty to report that is mandated by law. (Requirements vary depending on provincial or territorial legislation.) An adult participant who fails to report actual or suspected maltreatment or neglect of any kind involving a minor participant will be subject to disciplinary action under the UCCMS. 

Child Protection Legislation

If there is an instance of child abuse and neglect, who is responsible for reporting this? Much like creating a safe sport environment, we all have a responsibility to report these instances. In fact, everyone has a legal duty to report these types of acts under Canadian child welfare laws. Adults are obliged to report child maltreatment if there is knowledge or suspicion that it is occurring. This is called the duty to report. 

Step 1

If you know of or suspect a child is being abused or neglected, you have a legal obligation to report it. 

Step 2

Write down what you have seen, heard or been told and by whom. Record your observations and any actions you took. 

Step 3

Act quickly. (Do not wait for days or weeks.) You must report this maltreatment to: 

• Local police
• Local child welfare services (e.g., Children’s Aid Society or child and family service agencies) 
  • You can submit an online report of maltreatment to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection as well 
  • However, even if you make a report to it, you must also contact local authorities 
• Provincial or territorial social service ministries or departments 

📞 RESOURCES

Canadian Sport Helpline: 1-888-83SPORT(77678) or abuse-free-sport.ca/

The Canadian Sport Help Line is available to provide you with advice, guidance and resources on how to proceed/intervene appropriately in the circumstances.

Canadian Centre for Child Protection: protectchildren.ca/

If you have concerns about a child, or if you are a victim (survivor) or a family member of a victim, you may contact the Canadian Centre for Child Protection for information or support.

Kids Help Phone: 1-800-688-6868

Kids Help Phone is Canada’s only 24/7 national service offering professional counselling, information, referrals and volunteer-led text-based support for young people. Kids Help Phone’s free, anonymous services are available in both English and French.

First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness: 1-855-242-3310 or hopeforwellness.ca/

A helpline dedicated to supporting First Nations and Inuit Peoples. Service is available in Cree, Ojibway, Inuktitut, English and French. 

Trans Lifeline: 1-877-330-6366 or translifeline.org/

A helpline dedicated to the well-being of transgender people. The phone line is staffed by transgender people for transgender people. 

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Use and Addiction: ccsa.ca/addictions-treatment-helplines-canada

The Centre was created by the Canadian government to address and provide leadership on substance use in Canada. 

Victim Services Government of Canada: crcvc.ca/for-victims/services/

The Canadian government provides a number of services to victims of crime, including emotional support, counselling, advocacy and safety planning. 

Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP): suicideprevention.ca/

CASP’s goal is to reduce the suicide rate in Canada and to minimize the consequences of suicidal behaviour. 

More Resources Available: http://safesport.coach.ca/Toolbox

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[FEATURE SERIES] JOURNEY TO GREATNESS BY ACHA PATANDJILA

Posted on April 1, 2022May 16, 2022 by Acha Patandjila

Kingsway Boxing is honoured to welcome photojournalist, Acha Patandjila, who will be spending the next few months with KBC documenting the journey of our youth boxing team as they prepare for competition.

Life is a journey, for some, it’s long, for others it’s short and for me, it’s been about wandering. Born in South Africa, raised in Uganda, lived in Rwanda, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and guess who’s in Toronto? Me! My name is Acha, I’m a roaming storm, I hear, but I am not here to talk about myself, my role is to take you down this new journey to greatness by the Kingsway Boxing Club juniors and you are going to have one bumpy, fun ride!

~ Acha Patandjila

⚠️ Are you interested in joining our Youth Competitive Team? Learn more about next steps and what it takes to become a competitive boxer: Youth Talent ID & Team Tryouts

May 02, 2022 | COMMITMENT: WHERE DOES IT GET YOU? — Third In A Series

Diego goes to the gym and practices five times a week! A very African (Nigerian) expression would be, “Nawa o!”, an expression of awe and wonder translated to, “Okay wow”.

Commitment, to me, is the hardest task in life, it involves finding contrast in consistency and growing from it. Boring?  Possibly, if you’re without vision – but it is that commitment that Diego brings to the ring.

He is like a wild beast in the ring, one of the first boxers I met. He does not need to say much, for his boxing shouts louder. Surprisingly he has only been boxing at Kingsway Boxing Club for about seven months! I kid you not, you can do something for your whole life, but if you lack the zeal to wake up every day and chase that goal, you can call it null and void. The boxers’ commitment alone doesn’t make them a magnificent boxer, it’s the supporters and society’s daily dedication to the person and the cause. We have talked about this in the previous posts and referred to it as Ubuntu, (if you have not read it before, scroll down a bit, you will find it there.)

“In every sport, I always thought I could do everything I wanted so I put my mind on boxing,” Diego says. “If you are playing basketball, you have four other teammates to rely on but if you’re boxing you hold yourself accountable.” How many times in your life do you do something and quit halfway because you feel like it is not bearing fruit? I myself have a few articles only half-written, waiting for me on my desktop. The disciplines of dedication and commitment to boxing are those we can apply to our own lives.

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.”

Mohammed Ali

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.” That quote by Mohammed Ali, Diego lives by. He says he wants to be the best boxer of his time. This game is more about the mind and the heart. With the support of his family, Diego is able to give his sport all of his attention. This boxer is a CHAMPION – argue at your own risk.

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Apr. 12, 2022 | Beauty In The Brave — Second In A Series

It was a cozy Thursday evening, the sun emerged as the darkness tried to fill the bright city. Julia Rosanna was feeling well again after defeating COVID, it was going to be an interesting endeavour. Would she make it through though?

Julia joined the Club back in October 2019, since then she trains as a junior boxer every Thursday and Saturday and for her, as much as this is her last year as a junior boxer, the experience has been remarkably life changing. Brave is a word far from her vocabulary, it does not seem to be a word she lives by which I found quite intriguing. 

Having been told by her doctor that she exhibits some characteristics of ADHD, evidenced by her level of coordination, Julia was always the last to be picked for any sports-related activities. For many, this would be a reason to be discouraged but for this girl, it was every reason to try as much as she could until she was chosen. Kingsway Boxing Club opened that door and that is where her story matured.

It took twice as much effort for her to succeed in boxing. On Saturdays, she stayed a little while longer after practice to practice more and more, and one time her efforts were recognized by Phil, a trainer and boxer at the Club who complimented her saying she was getting better, to her, this was a huge moment.

In this day and age equity does not find us where we go, we find equity and make equity amount to our standards. From this girl, it is through hard work, perseverance, and a paradigm shift of one’s perspective towards life. “It’s all mental,” she says, “everything that you feel and everything that you see is all mental, it’s entirely surreal so if you could change your mind, you could change not the world in a sense but definitely how you respond to the world.”

“Everything that you feel and everything that you see is all mental, it’s entirely surreal so if you could change your mind, you could change not the world in a sense but definitely how you respond to the world.”

Julia Howe

The question: Was she going to make it through the season is answered – Julia is a fighter. How far she can go? The limit is not the sky, nor will she stop at the stars –  because she is VALOROUS in every letter.

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Apr. 1, 2022 | Where It Started — First In A Series

It was a warm Friday morning, Spring was calling, and it was PIZZA DAY at Kingsway Boxing Club to make it better; That was the last day of Fight Camp. The one-week camp was coming to an end, and it was going to end in great style and action with a lot of sparring. What in the world is sparring?!

Matias systematically wraps his wrist with a red, long wrap as Joey in the corner does the same with a black one, and Diego, well, he has a different wrapping style where he first layers the wrap on his knuckles and I think what on earth is he doing, whether it is for the aesthetics, or the weights, don’t boxers wear boxing gloves when boxing? A Hand wrap is a long piece of cloth with such primary value to the boxer; to avoid hand injuries and provide support to their wrists. Before the conditioning, before sparring, this is where it starts and while they are at it, all you can hear are chatters, and little waves of laughter, others helping those who find it difficult to wrap, and it takes me back home, we called that togetherness – “Ubuntu”.

Ubuntu is the belief in existing because of the existence of others. In other words, to become a person, a boxer, you will need other boxers, referees, fans, supporters, and an endless list of a community. In the process, I realized there was more to boxing than throwing fists in oversized gloves rather it was a moment to unite in one accord, a moment to release your inner solidity and brain brawn because you need your mind just as much as the rest of your body on this journey, something like dancing but it is different.

Ubuntu is the belief in existing because of the existence of others. In other words, to become a person, a boxer, you will need other boxers, referees, fans, supporters, and an endless list of a community.

After a few sessions of jumping, punching bags, throwing huge balls around, memorizing tolerance, and loud hushes, was the much more exciting bit in the ring! “Jelo”, who is not called Jello, a boxer at the Kingsway Boxing Club held intimidating features and posture, his punches looked like they would throw you out the ring at one go, yes, he was one of the people the junior boxers were going to spar with, and you do not think that is brave? I did not see myself in that ring in a thousand years let alone with professionals, yet these junior boxers seemed more than ready to jab and cross these fighters. The girl’s extraordinary performance reminded me of a speech by Chimamanda Adichie where she said, “Never ever accept ‘because you are a woman’ as a reason for doing or not doing anything,” it was evident as they were in the ring that their gender was never going to be an excuse for anything, we love to see it! 

The brave boxers were awarded certificates of participation to sum up their camp session. I used to think like I know many others do think as well, that boxing is violent, I was contradicted that day, there had to be a much greater reason as to why everyone was there. This is life for many children and teenagers on the road to the competition. They’re here to seek, heal, grow, box, and learn, but mainly to defeat because “Defeat is not an Option”. This is where it all begins.

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