Kirk Whitelock in Aberfeldy Boxing Club
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Aberfeldy Boxing Club in final three for prestigious London sports award

The award celebrates unsung heroes who are bringing sport to under-represented groups and improving lives through physical activity. 

East End’s Aberfeldy Boxing Club is a finalist in a prestigious London sports award.

The club was nominated for the London Sports Award, which celebrates grassroots sport in the capital. The club is in the final three to win the Uniting London Award which celebrates those who strive to break down barriers, make sport accessible to all people and bring communities across London together. 

The club’s founder, Kirk Whitelock, said he was ‘proud, super proud’ to be in the final three.

East Ender Whitelock set up the club in March 2020, days before the first lockdown. While some new ventures might have crumbled with this pressure, the club’s popularity grew. ‘I think boxing has grown on more people during the pandemic because of the mental health side of it,’ Whitelock said. 

Poplar HARCA, a housing association in East London, nominated Aberfeldy Boxing Club. The club is on the Aberfeldy Estate which is part of a regeneration project overseen by Poplar HARCA and EcoWorld London. 

Poplar HARCA Project Manager Caroline Murray who put forward the nomination said that when she saw the Uniting London category in the London Sports Award, ‘that’s exactly what Aberfeldy Boxing Club is doing for the community’. Murray added: ‘They’ve been doing amazing work using boxing to bring people together and introducing more diverse audiences to the sport, especially women and girls.’

She said that being in the final gives the club the prestige and recognition of what they’re doing on a London-wide platform: ‘It shows what’s great about Aberfeldy and it’s fab profile for East London.’

Now in its seventh year, the London Sports Awards, supported by the City of London Corporation, recognises and celebrates unsung heroes who are improving lives through sport and physical activity. This year, a record 350 nominations were received. Finalists were chosen by a panel of expert judges from organisations including Sport England and London Marathon.

Aberfeldy Boxing Club will have to wait until March 2023 to find out if they have won in their category overall. Whitelock said:  ‘No knocking about now, we just wanna win it.’

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