Trip to Northern Powerhouse Boxing Academy inspires young women from Fight for Peace

‘The Lutadoras’, from London, are the female arm of the organisation that aims to inspire young people to reach their full potential and promote peace in their communities.

“We visited the Academy to take part in their empowering, safe and motivating training sessions and also to exchange ideas on how boxing and martial arts can keep women and girls engaged in the sports,” explained ​​Katie-Wambui Kings, Female Engagement Consultant at Fight for Peace.

The Academy invited the Lutadoras to take part in their female only coaching sessions and there was also the opportunity for the girls from both clubs to take part in an inter-club sparring.

They then walked from the boxing club in Eastwood to Stoodley Pike, a very steep five-mile hike that offered a different kind of challenge.

“We felt like champions reaching the monument that came out of nowhere in the mist! To visit Yorkshire, after so many of us had been stuck in London since the start of the pandemic, was fantastic. Spending time with the NPBA was inspirational and we hope this partnership can continue to flourish.”

NPBA Club Manager Josie McNamara said: “This is the first time we have had another club visit NPBA and our female boxers had their first opportunity to spar against girls from outside our club.

“As the first women-led boxing club in the UK, we have worked around many of the barriers that stop women and girls taking part in boxing and it was a privilege to share our experiences with this wonderful group of young women.”

NPBA is the UK’s first female led boxing club, registered as a not-for-profit, Community Interest Company. It provides girls and women with access to female only coaching sessions in a safe welcoming environment. It offers training for everyone female and male, of all ages.