St John's Amateur Boxing Club is the first boxing club in Greater Manchester and one of only six boxing clubs in England to receive Clubmark.

The club provides boxing opportunities for young people from the age of eight All coaching is by qualified ABAE coaches who are first aid trained and have been screened for their suitability for working with young people.

The club, based in Chorlton, Manchester, found the process to be both challenging and rewarding, and is reaping the benefits of the hard work that its members have put into achieving accreditation.

Andrew Rea, coach and chairman of the club said: "The procedures put into place as part of the Clubmark process has made the day-to-day running of the club easier and helped to re-educate volunteers and coaches. Achieving Clubmark has given everyone at the club a boost and forced us to plan ahead and look to secure the future of the club."

In particular, the club has benefited from greater community links as a result of its work to achieve Clubmark. St John's received support from its local boxing development officer Kevin Williams, as well as its local authority's sports development team and local school sports link officers.

"We found that the links you forge with other organisations as part of the Clubmark process helped strengthen the profile of the club in the local community and led to increased membership and offers of support," said Andrew.

For more information visit the Club's website - http://stjohnschorlton.com