The women inspiring generations of Sheffield boxers
Aspire Boxing Club have a double celebration
Two Sheffield women were rewarded for their inspirational services to the fight game at the annual England Boxing Awards held in the city yesterday.
Aspire Boxing Club, of Basegreen, celebrated a memorable night as Sharon Holford was named Female Coach of the Year, while Tracy Tucker was recognised as Volunteer of the Year.
For Sharon, it was a vindication for the hard work she had put into boxing over the decades.
"I am quite overwhelmed, I didn't expect it. I'm really grateful for the award," she said.
Sharon, 46, started off boxing under the wing of the legendary Herol 'Bomber' Graham.
She later moved on to Aspire, where she says founder Ronny Tucker instilled her with enough confidence to win titles and represent her country.
Ronny said: "She came to Aspire as a 25-year-old who lost her first four bouts; through hard work and dedication she went on to become a three-time national champion at three different weights.
"She also represented England on several occasions, winning European Silver and European Gold.
"She boxed and coached at a time where we didn't have many females involved.
"We had to travel to other countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Ireland and Scotland so that she could compete.
"In 2012 Sharon decided to hang up her gloves, basically she walked out of the gym on Friday and returned on Monday as a coach" said Ronny.
"The award was fitting as Sharon has demonstrated her abilities as a coach not only at a club level, but also for England and GB.
"She is a well-respected coach by both the males and the females in the gym, like most coaches, she gives up her time to coach at the gym, Sharon was a deserving winner of the award, I'm so pleased for her."
Aspire is a family affair and it was Ronny's wife Tracy who won the England Volunteer of the Year honour.
Ronny recalled: "We started the club in September 1990, we had a five-year-old son, I'd just started university, and Tracy was pregnant with our daughter.
"As a young couple, we didn't have much money, I decided that I wanted to set up a boxing club, we used £500 of our own money to set up the gym, we bought a ring from the then national association of boys' clubs for £600, who allowed us to pay them £50 a month again out of our own money.
"Most women would have run a mile however Tracy supported my idea.
"When we opened our doors our first boxer was Roger Sampson, soon after Keith Palmer and Brendan Warburton walked through the door.
"They all now run their own gyms.
"In boxing, people often think that the gym is run by coaches, often males, however they often don't realise what goes off behind the scenes" said Ronny.
"Without Tracy, Aspire would not have existed for 36 years.
"She has been a volunteer since the gym started.
"She's always worked the doors at our shows, completes all the paperwork, organised various trips, presentation events, the work that we do in schools, various conferences that we have run over the years weekend residentials for young people.
"I was so proud of her last night, the award was well deserved, Tracy has helped to change many young people's lives, she is certainly Aspire's stalwart.
"Last night was a great night for Tracy and Sharon, for Aspire Boxing Club, but it was also a great for all the females who are involved in the sport."
*It was a memorable night too for Atif Shafiq and Abdul Majid's Unity Boxing Centre in Aldwarke Lane, Rotherham.
They won the Community Club Impact Award and the Individual Impact Award went to Unity's Emma Sharp, from Kimberworth.