Triumph Amateur Boxing Club looks set to find a new home at Woodfield School, just weeks after being told to vacate the premises it had used for four decades.
The Coventry club, which has operated for around 60 years and currently supports roughly 100 young people, many from deprived or difficult backgrounds, was forced out of its long standing base at the Standard Triumph Recreation Club in Canley after its lease expired.
Now the club is hoping to move into a boxin
g facility at Woodfield School, though the switch still depends on the site passing an inspection carried out by England Boxing.
Head coach Dinesh Darbar said he was confident the move would go ahead, adding that he was looking forward to working in partnership with the school, even though there were still a few hurdles to clear before the deal could be finalised.
There is currently no set timescale for how long the club will be able to use the school site, Darbar said, though he described members as “really positive” about the prospect and said attention would now turn to arranging the practical details of the setup so training could resume.
Although no reopening date has yet been confirmed, the new arrangement means Triumph will have a base free of charge until September.
Darbar credited Taiwo Owatemi, MP for Coventry North West, with playing a key role in securing the site, praising her quick response and determination to help. Owatemi told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that her aim had been to bring the relevant parties together and do the groundwork needed to help the club find somewhere to continue operating.
Darbar also thanked Woodfield School principal Nico de Groot and Declan Connolly, sport and physical activity development manager at Coventry City Council, for their help in finding the new site.
