Vikings Boxing Gym rolling with the 2020 punches
WEB AND PRINT
Princess — The spirit of a boxer is one that pushes through pain, stands up to the challenges and fights to the final bell. Despite the challenges of 2020, Vikings Boxing Club is boxing clever to see out the final rounds of this year's bout.
Once known as the Witpoortjie Amateur Boxing Club, the club was founded in the early fifties and took residence at the Witpoortjie Recreation Centre in the mid-seventies. In a venue they still call home today, owner Phillip du Randt continues to shape the hearts, minds and fists of the area's premier sluggers. Roughly four years ago, Phillip felt they required a more distinct identity and the Vikings were born.
Boxing may be a duel between two athletes in the ring, but the mindsets and attitudes needed for victory are moulded as a collective. “It is not a singular effort, it is for everyone. If one falls, we all fall,” said Phillip. It has been this mentality that has seen him, the coaches and the students pull together their resources to make sure that boxing becomes a sanctuary from the outside world.
An inter-club community that thrives on large-scale events has understandably taken more than several blows this year but the club is proving to have an iron jaw. No competitions are scheduled just yet but hopes are that 2021 will bring fresh relief. The club will continue to train in earnest and Phillip is appealing to the community to donate any spare equipment they may have collecting dust.
Along with a search for sponsors, Vikings' immediate short-term goal is a search for a new home. The recreation hall has served them well but the space is becoming untenable for their 50-strong membership. New members are always encouraged and will be versed in the adage, “Be the best you can be, unless you can be a Viking, then always be a Viking”.
The spirit of a boxer is one that pushes through pain, stands up to the challenges and fights to the final bell. Despite the challenges of 2020, Vikings Boxing Club is boxing clever to see out the final rounds of this year’s bout.
Once known as the Witpoortjie Amateur Boxing Club, the club was founded in the early fifties and took residence at the Witpoortjie Recreation Centre in the mid-seventies. In a venue they still call home today, owner Phillip du Randt continues to shape the hearts, minds and fists of the area’s premier sluggers. Roughly four years ago, Phillip felt they required a more distinct identity and the Vikings were born.
Boxing may be a duel between two athletes in the ring, but the mindsets and attitudes needed for victory are moulded as a collective. “It is not a singular effort, it is for everyone. If one falls, we all fall,” said Phillip. It has been this mentality that has seen him, the coaches and the students pull together their resources to make sure that boxing becomes a sanctuary from the outside world.
An inter-club community that thrives on large-scale events has understandably taken more than several blows this year but the club is proving to have an iron jaw. No competitions are scheduled just yet but hopes are that 2021 will bring fresh relief. The club will continue to train in earnest and Phillip is appealing to the community to donate any spare equipment they may have collecting dust.
Along with a search for sponsors, Vikings’ immediate short-term goal is a search for a new home. The recreation hall has served them well but the space is becoming untenable for their 50-strong membership. New members are always encouraged and will be versed in the adage, “Be the best you can be, unless you can be a Viking, then always be a Viking”.
