Shotton ABC’s vital community work

Shotton ABC has been at the heart of its local community for over 40 years, providing a base for people to engage with physical activity in a safe environment.  

Diane Doran is the Club Secretary at Shotton and has recently spoken to Welsh Boxing about the important collaborations and provisions the club rolls out. 

Having been approached by Empire Fighting Chance through Sport Wales, Shotton were more than eager to accommodate interventional sessions running for youngsters across Flintshire and surrounding areas.  

“They’re learning the boxing discipline,” Diane told us. “We try to instil a sense of self-worth and respect for others.” 

Shotton ABC also works with Sports Development, enabling young people from the local area to gain boxing knowledge.  

“As a rule, they have approximately five youngsters who regularly attended sessions,” Diane confirmed. 

“Many of these youngsters may not have come to the club if they had not been signposted our way,” she continued. 

“Our participants don’t have to want to box but can use the training as an outlet to further their knowledge of the sport.  

“We encourage our participants to use the sessions to get healthy and fitter which, in turn, helps with mental as well as physical wellbeing.” 

A hub for wellbeing in the local community, Shotton ABC will now look to develop their offering and facilities, aiming to source funding from the Sport Wales Be Active Wales Fund. 

“The Be Active Wales funding would enable the club to kit out a room that would mean we could accommodate more participants,” Diane confirmed.  

“We are also looking to put safety lighting outside. At the moment, there is no street lighting and the entrance is very dark.” 

A key asset to the community, Shotton ABC – like so many of our boxing clubs across Wales – continues to prove its importance to the people in its vicinity.  

“We have always provided a safe environment,” Diane concluded, “where people from ten years and above can train in a boxing gym.  

“We enable people from all walks of life to join in a sport that is not readily available in other training centres.”