Bradford College

Official Opening of Bradford College Boxing Centre

Official Opening of Bradford College Boxing Centre (Home of Bradford Police & College Boxing Academy)

Building on its reputation for global excellence, Bradford Police & College Boxing Academy commemorated an Olympic Legacy on Friday, 24th February with the opening of a new state of the art £300,000 Boxing Centre in the heart of Trinity Green Campus.

Trinity Green Campus was officially opened in September 2008, by the then Minister for Sport Mr Gerry Sutcliffe MP.  Mr Gerry Sutcliffe, MP officially open the new centre, which boasts three boxing rings, including an AIBA-spec competition ring, a full range of hitting equipment, mirrors, weights, 2 full sets of instant playback audio-visual equipment with 51-inch TV monitors for performance analysis and a sound system. 

The Centre forms part of the £17million Trinity Green Sports Complex, which includes 120-bed accommodation for squads, visiting teams and fully-equipped sports centre.

Bradford College Principal and Chief Executive, Michele Sutton, OBE welcomed visitors attending the official opening, including London 2012 Olympic personnel and international guests jetting in from across the globe.

Chief international guests included the Vietnamese Olympic Committee, Mittal Champions Trust /Indian Boxing Federation, Chinese, Qatar and Nigerian Government Officials.

During the official ceremony Nigerian Government Official Mrs. Zuwaira Yusuf, PA to Dame Patience Jonathan, the First Lady of Nigeria was delighted to present the Lord Mayor of Bradford with a personal portrait to mark the auspicious occasion.

Principal, Michele Sutton, OBE speaking at the official opening ceremony said: “In this unique period of Great British Sports history, we are delighted to provide inspiring new Boxing training facility for elite performers, whilst delivering the 3 key themes of Sport England’s strategy: Grow, Sustain and Excel. The facility will provide an internationally recognised Boxing Centre that puts itself at the centre of Olympic Boxing in Britain.”

As a leading player in boxing education, the Bradford Police & College Boxing Academy has made huge strides since it opened in 2008. Bradford Boxing Development Officer, Paul Porter reflected: “We didn’t even have a pair of gloves when I first joined the College. Now we’ve got the new Boxing Centre we can continue and expand our work of holding training sessions and boxing events for all levels, from beginners to Olympic level athletes.”

Mr Porter continued: “We started two weeks after the end of the last Olympics and by the start of London 2012 we will have hosted international teams’ pre-games training camps.”

Bradford College's women's boxing programme has also been granted the ‘Inspire Mark’; the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises innovative and exceptional projects directly inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Academy is also one of only seven colleges in the country to become a designated High Performance Boxing Centre for aspiring boxers aged 16-19 years, embarking on the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence.

Mr Porter continued: “We have an extremely talented coaching set-up, led by Mally MacIver (Head Coach) and Kevin Smith (former Scotland National Team Coach) now running our Advanced Apprenticeships in Sporting Excellence Programme. Any boxer that joins our Academy can fulfil their true potential, with the opportunity through Bradford College to become an international class boxer.”

International Project Manager, Ronnie Todd concluded: “The Bradford Sports Partnership of the College, University, Council and Community Sports Network is absolutely delighted that the Amateur Boxing Association of England & Sport England has chosen us to be their flagship capital project in a truly historic Olympic Year.”

“With the tremendous support of the Police Community Clubs GB, our Academy will serve the next generations of young people in the most noble of sports in our City. This fantastic new facility will cater for people simply wishing to get some exercise to Olympic standard high performance athletes. It is a true Olympic Legacy and a real testament to the Bradford & Yorkshire Gold strategies, adding to the quality of the City’s 2012 Pre – Games Training Camp Facilities for our visiting Olympic Teams from Vietnam, Tanzania, China etc.”

“It has been a true team effort from all concerned and I’m sure we’ll put on the best Olympic & Paralympic Games ever.’’

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