Boxing makes an unlikely comeback in schools and clubs

Level 3 Advanced
1 Warmer
What do you consider to be the advantages and disadvantages of these sports?

advantages disadvantages
horse-riding

gymnastics

boxing

Say which of the sports you consider to be the most dangerous and why.
Then scan the article to nd out what it says about the three sports.

2 Key words
Write the words from the article into the gaps. The paragraph numbers are given to help you nd the
right words.
1. the start of something again that quickly increases in in uence, effect, etc. ______________________ (para 1)
2. to be very popular in a particular place or group ______________________ (three words, para 2)
3. refused to accept that something might be true or important ______________________ (para 2)
4. a division or part of a country that elects a representative to a parliament ______________________ (para 5)
5. the feeling that you are as important as other people and that you deserve to be treated well
______________________ (para 5)
6. separating someone from the (bad) person or thing that holds and in uences them ______________________
(para 5)
7. how well someone does in formal education ______________________ (two words, para 8)
8. the second person in charge of a college or university ______________________ (two words, para 8)
9. problems or dif culties ______________________ (para 8)
10. beginning to understand ______________________ (two words, para 9)
11. easy to get to; available ______________________ (para 11)
12. attractive and interesting ______________________ (para 11)
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 Boxing makes an unlikely comeback in schools and clubs
Level 3 Advanced
Off the ropes and back into the ring –
boxing makes unlikely comeback in
schools and clubs
Matthew Taylor and Owen Gibson
15 November, 2009
1 Boxing is undergoing a big resurgence, with tens
of thousands of people taking part in schools
and gyms across the country each week. The
number of people registered with amateur clubs
in England has nearly tripled since 2005, and the
sport is likely to get a further boost from David
Haye recently winning a world heavyweight title.
2 The number of schools with boxing on the
curriculum has jumped from 20 in 2005 to 1,931
in 2009 and the sport has become the toast
of politicians and education experts who once
dismissed it as too violent.
3 “Twelve years ago I considered boxing almost
too dangerous to be considered as a mainstream
sport,” said Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister.
“I was public health minister and the British
Medical Association quite regularly at that time
called for boxing to be banned.”
4 But she said boxing’s safety record had
improved and it was now ranked 75th by the
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
on its list of the most dangerous sports, behind
rollerblading, gymnastics and horse-riding.
5 “It reaches young people that other sports can’t
reach,” added Jowell. “In my own constituency,
it’s probably the number one sport that young
people want to do. It gives them self-esteem, it
gets rid of aggression, yet at the same time is a
highly disciplined sport. We know it can be a way
of disengaging kids from gangs, carrying knives,
from low-level crime and high-level antisocial
behaviour.”
6 According to the latest national school sport
survey, boxing is now available in 34% of
secondary schools in England. The same
survey showed that 5% of primary and 26% of
secondary schools have a formal link with an
accredited amateur boxing club.
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2009
NEWS LESSONS / Boxing makes an unlikely comeback in schools and clubs / Advanced
7 “It has become so popular in schools, quite
simply, because it works,” said Rebecca Gibson,
head of development at the Amateur Boxing
Association of England, who said the sport had
bene ted from the success of ghters such as
Amir Khan and a jump in funding from £50,000
in 2005 to £4.7m this year.
8 One school that has become convinced of
the sport’s bene ts is the Harris academy in
Merton, south London. “It has had an impact on
everything here from behaviour and attendance
to academic achievement,” said Gregg Morrison,
the assistant principal with responsibility for
sport. “It has been one of the best things we
have done in terms of helping individual pupils
and has been particularly successful for those
with behavioural or self-esteem issues, who are
traditionally very hard to reach.”
9 Former Ghanaian boxing champion, Isola Akay,
said, “It is really amazing how many youngsters
have wanted to come and box in the last few
years. We have 300 people who come here
each week and there are queues of boys and
girls at the side each night waiting for a chance
to join in. I have known for years what boxing
can offer people and it seems others are now
catching on.”
10 Women’s boxing, which will be included in the
London Olympics for the rst time in 2012, is one
of the sport’s biggest growth areas. According
to a survey on sport in England, 37,000 women
are now regular participants. The number of
registered female boxers in the UK has risen
from 50 in 2005 to more than 642 in 2009.
Rebecca Gibson, head of development at the
Amateur Boxing Association of England, said in
the past year the biggest increase in registered
boxers had been among girls aged between 11
and 17.
11 “Girls are in a position where they want more
choices and as sport becomes more accessible,
boxing is appealing to more of them,” Gibson
said. “They want something different and that
is what boxing offers. Many women nd it an
empowering activity.”
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 Boxing makes an unlikely comeback in schools and clubs
Level 3 Advanced
12 Lesley Sackey, 27, from London started boxing
three years ago and now represents England.
She is one of a handful of women hoping for a
place on the 2012 women’s Olympic team. “A
few years ago, a friend of my dad’s suggested
it as a way to keep t. It was a shock to my
system at rst because it is incredibly hard
training but now I have de nitely got the bug,”
she said. Sackey trains six days a week and
recently attended a selection camp for the
women’s Olympic team. “It is just so exciting to
be involved at this level,” and the whole thing
feels like an amazing opportunity, she said. “It is
a huge commitment but I wouldn’t change it.”
© Guardian News & Media 2009
First published in The Guardian, 15/11/2009

3 Find the information

Write your answers to the questions in note form.
1. Name three boxers mentioned in the article.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

2. Who is Tessa Jowell and how has her opinion of boxing changed?
_______________________________________________________________________________________

3. Name at least three bene ts of boxing.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

4. Why are schools in favour of putting boxing onto their curriculum?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

5. Why are so many women taking up boxing?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

6. Who is Lesley Sackey and what does she hope to do?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

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NEWS LESSONS / Boxing makes an unlikely comeback in schools and clubs / Advanced
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 Boxing makes an unlikely comeback in schools and clubs
Level 3 Advanced

4 Language: Graphs
1. Scan the article to nd the gures and then put the information into the bar charts to show:
a. the number of registered female boxers
b. the number of British schools that have boxing on their curriculum

2. Now use the following language to explain your bar chart:

jumped increased risen by ... per cent rocketed D •

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NEWS LESSONS / Boxing makes an unlikely comeback in schools and clubs / Advanced
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 Boxing makes an unlikely comeback in schools and clubs
Level 3 Advanced
5 Discussion: What is your opinion?
Tick the statement you most agree with.
¨ Boxing is violent and dangerous.
¨ Boxing teaches discipline and is good for self-esteem.
¨ Boxing is an exciting sport for both men and women.
¨ Boxing should be banned.

Talk with other students who have chosen a different statement to you and say why you chose the
statement that you did.

6 Webquest
Your 15-year-old daughter / granddaughter / sister / neighbour wants to take up boxing. Research the
internet to nd a club near you (or in a town of your choice) and look for the following information:
• membership fee
• whether personal trainers are available
• age restrictions
• opening times
• competitions
• other useful information

Compare your results with other students and decide which club you will recommend.

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NEWS LESSONS / Boxing makes an unlikely comeback in schools and clubs / Advanced
H
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 Boxing makes an unlikely comeback in schools and clubs
Level 3 Advanced

KEY
1 Warmer 4 Language: Graphs

Boxing is “… now ranked 75th by the Royal Society

for the Prevention of Accidents on its list of the most
dangerous sports, behind rollerblading, gymnastics and
horse-riding.” (para 4)
…
2 Key words
…
…… … …
1. resurgence
2. the toast of
3. dismissed
4. constituency
5. self-esteem
6. disengaging
7. academic achievement
8. assistant principal
9. issues
10. catching on
11. accessible
12. appealing

3 Find the information

1. David Haye, Amir Khan, Isola Akay

2. She is the British government’s Olympics minister.
She used to dislike boxing and wanted to have
it banned. Now that boxing’s safety record has
improved she sees it as a positive way to reach
youngsters.
3. It provides self-esteem, discipline and allows
people to get rid of their aggression.
4. Boxing has had a positive impact on attendance
and academic achievement. It has helped pupils
with behavioural and self-esteem issues.
5. Many women nd boxing to be an
empowering activity.
6. She is a 27-year-old woman from London who
hopes to represent England in the women’s boxing
event at the next Olympic Games.
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