The Maribyrnong Youth Boxing Club has finally reopened one year after the October 2022 floods.
President Andrew Gustincich said the club was forced to close down entirely for the duration of the rebuild.
“We couldn’t set up anywhere else because we lost all of the equipment, we thought it would be best to throw everything out and start fresh,” he said.
The club has been entirely volunteer run for more than 60 years , with participants varying from age and experience.
“We have a lot of kids come to us once football finishes, at the moment we have upwards of 20 kids varying in ages from 12-18 years old.
“My wife runs a boxing class which rotates between people, we have many different family members coming to that class.”
Andrew describes the gym as being a family friendly space.
“Throughout the year I updated people on how we were travelling, being a very social club,” he said.
“Having everyone come in to train and get along easily, made the last year very tough.
“We had only just recovered from covid and getting our numbers back up when the floods hit, which brought us back to square one.”
Since the clubs reopening on Thursday, November 2, the community has enjoyed coming back to train.
“Christmas is coming up so everyone wants to get in shape and try something new.
“None of this would have been possible without our secretary David Nugara who did a lot of work getting this sorted with council.
“He is a massive asset and part of the club which assisted with all aspects of getting us back up and running.”
Jennifer Pittorino
