Gym that trained Olympian Nicola Adams receives Clubmark status
A gym that helped train Nicola Adams, who went on to becoming the first Olympic Women’s Boxing Gold Medallist in London, has received a prestigious Clubmark accreditation.
Located off Manchester Road in Bradford, Huggys Gym has been awarded for meeting high standards by The Amateur Boxing Association of England Ltd (ABA) and the Certified Licensing Organisation Clubmark.
It has been evaluated on the level of its programmes, its care and welfare, its service to the community and the quality of its management.
As well as the accreditation, the gym has also received £42,000 worth of Inspired facilities funding from Sport England with the help of West Yorkshire Sport, Sporting Equals, ABA, and the Bradford Council Sports Unit.
The sum of money will now go towards refurbishment work and the development of services at the gym, which will in turn allow the gym to be open all year round and support people joining the club.
ABA boxing development officer Ben Stewart, told the Yorkshire Standard: “The Clubmark accreditation is a benchmark for good practice in terms of how the club is run, the governance of the club and making sure the minimum standards are met.
“Huggys is only the fifth in Yorkshire and Humber to receive this accreditation so it goes to show the club is getting its house in order, which is also why the club has been given the grant by Sport England to develop further.”
Receiving the accreditation, manager Huggy Osman, said: “Being recognised feels brilliant and it has been long overdue.
“We’ve had classes on from young kids up to adults, and now we have had demand to open the gym during the day for adult sessions. We are going from strength to strength and hope to increase participation amongst women and girls too.”
Huggys Gym has been working closely with community organisation Trident, as well as local schools and youth service projects in delivering a strong message to increase physical activity and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.
It also helped train up Olympian Gold Medallist Nicola Adams, and is currently being used by Leeds-based boxer Qais Ashfaq, and Ambreen Sadiq, who was the first Asian Muslim female to box in the UK.
Originally from Wakefield, 32-year-old Peter Atkinson has also benefited from the gym after he saw it whilst travelling down Manchester Road.
He overcame personal issues and started coaching voluntary whilst doing maintenance work at the gym.
He said: “At first I lacked a lot of composure and lacked confidence, but people have been so supportive here including Huggy.
“The gym has made me be a man, teach me to have morals and have respect for people.”
