Gerry Willmott is a Met police officer and is the founder member of Haringey Police boxing club. It was one of the first Police Community Boxing Clubs of Great Britain (PCCGB) established in the year 2000 and it has become one of its most successful clubs.
Based in the heart of Tottenham, an economically deprived area of London with a very high crime rate, we work with many youths some of whom are very disadvantaged. We believe boxing can provide a positive influence in many young people's lives. Moreover, we have witnessed the important role a club like ours plays in an especially tough area where many have otherwise become victims of their own environment. We are proud to say that some of our members have, with the support of the club, taken control of their lives, their health and fitness and been able to apply the discipline the sport of boxing to their everyday lives. We adopt the ethos of our umbrella organization (PCCGB) which supports youth and community groups throughout Great Britain in initiatives which enhance young people's life skills and promote social inclusion by helping them to make the most of their potential and become responsible citizens.
At Haringey we have achieved a great deal in a relatively short space of time but none of our achievements would have been possible without the hard work of Gerry Willmott who in the very first year (2000) had two members win titles in the novice championships and our hard working treasurer Ken Marsh. Ken is key figure working behind the scenes raising important funds so that we can keep our doors open and not only function on a daily basis but organise trips away, like our trip to the Angered box cup in Sweden where our members have achieved great success.
Haringey however would not be Haringey without the well known figure of Brian John who joined the club in 2001 after serving over 20 years with St. Pancras as boxer & coach. A dedicated member of the Haringey team and we are extremely lucky to have such an experienced head coach at the helm.
Shortly before Brian joined, multi-titled junior Michael Grant had moved from Finchley ABC to re establish himself in his old gym, formerly New Enterprise ABC. The following year Grant added another title to his already bulging portfolio, the NACYP Class C and was well on his way to attempting to win his first Senior ABA title the same season. Michael reached the ABA quarter finals losing narrowly to eventual champion Andy Morris from Wythenshaw. The following season in Michael's 2nd attempt at the ABA 's, he was again eliminated at the same stage as the previous year again losing narrowly to eventual champion Stephen Burke ( Salisbury ). In 2004 Grant reached the final on his 3rd attempt and lost on points to the Army's Chris Pacy with an off par performance. The following season Grant's dream finally came true going one better and beating Swindon puncher Jamie Cox in a barnstormer (See video) and becoming the clubs 1st ABA champion. Grant is now punching for pay in the professional ranks. It was this first ABA title that well and truly put Haringey on the map in terms of boxing achievements.
In 2005 Terri Kelly joined the club as an experienced match maker having spent 20 years working behind the scenes at All Stars ABC in West London . The number of bouts per season has more than doubled over the past few years and the club has gone from strength to strength with 4 national novice finalists in 2005, Ola Ekundayo reached the ¼ finals of the ABA's in 2006 and Ashley Sexton (who joined in 2006) has represented not only the club but England on several occasions. In the Boxing News Four Nations ratings in 2007 we are proud to say that there were four Haringey members included.
In 2008 we at Haringey Police club hosted the first ever Box Cup in London: The Haringey Box Cup. We raised £50,000 and secured Alexandra Palace as the venue. We successfully ran a 3 day tournament which saw 168 boxers competing for Gold. The tournament was a great success as teams came from Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Wales and Scotland to compete with English boxers up and down the Country.
In 2009 we ran the same event and saw an increase of 60% in participating boxers descend upon Alexandra Palace. There were more Countries representing too. We had had such positive feed back the first year that clubs went away and committed to bringing bigger teams. 177 bouts took place over the weekend, although it was restructured slightly as our governing body saw fit to place restrictions upon us regarding the 3 day rule. Regardless of those restrictions it was another outstanding success and highlighted that there is a need for events like this in amateur boxing at grass root level. Feed back once again was extremely positive. Now in 2012 this will be our fifth year of running the Haringey Box Cup. However, it is becoming difficult for our small team to continually raise the money needed to run this tournament so we appeal to you to assist in raising donations and coming forward with sponsorship to keep this excellent event ago.
2010 saw a positive start for the Haringey Police team: On the morning of Friday 12 February 2010 Haringey police officers Ken Marsh and Gerry Willmott attended Buckingham Palace to be presented with their MBEs for establishing and developing a flourishing boxing club.
PC Ken Marsh said: "I had a wonderful day and am a bit overwhelmed by it. I'm just an ordinary person and to stand in front of the Queen and have her speak to you and acknowledge what you've done is just incredible."
PC Gerry Willmott said: "It was a fantastic day. I feel really pleased and proud. It was very exciting to be in front of the Queen and hear her acknowledge that a scheme I thought up has been working and turning people's lives around."
Proud Moment for all Haringey Police members.
