Sixteen-year-old Margo Recalma from Team 700 out of the Nanaimo Boxing Club is preparing for her first competition next month, following training this past summer courtesy of Island Health’s resilience and safety grant.
Some of the $1.1 million grant was given to Red Girl Rising Movement Society, which in turn allowed 20 Indigenous youths from across B.C., including Recalma, to participate in a boxing training camp for three days over the summer in the W̱SÁNEĆ Territory at the Tsartlip First Nation.
Ivy Richardson, the society’s founder and executive director, said in a press release that while coaches hook the youth with boxing, the program is about more than just sport, and some youths who arrive shy and reserved leave with confidence.
“Soccer and basketball are usually the only sports available, so this was an opportunity to try something different and get outside their comfort zone, while building relationships with other like-minded youths and strong leaders, ” Richardson said. “We also focused on mental well-being and helped develop their tool-kits with healthy coping and lifestyle habits.”
Through only word of mouth, registration for the program was full within the first week week and there were 100 people on the waitlist.
Recalma, of Hesquiaht First Nation Qualicum and Nam’gis First Nations, was one of the lucky candidates chosen. Now, she’s one of 10 athletes on Team 700, said to be B.C.’s first competitive Indigenous youth boxing team.
“Before boxing, I wasn’t doing well at school or anything and now I’ve been doing much better in school,” Recalma said. “Boxing has taught me about breath-work and that’s helped me with everything in life. I’ve also improved my sleep and I’m trying to eat better.”
READ MORE: Island Health grants will support community health and wellness programs
Richardson said she believes that society fails youths by setting bars too low.
“So we push our youths and have high expectations, and they exceed the goals all the time. Our youths deserve to thrive and not just survive,” she said.
The latest round of resilience and safety grant recipients was announced April 4. Some projects approved in Central Vancouver Island include the Town of Ladysmith’s Youth Bloom, the Pacific Rim School District’s hišukʔiš c̓awaak: Everything is One, as well as Literacy Central Vancouver Island’s trade skills literacy connect project.