Sudbury's Top Glove Boxing trades gloves for running shoes
For the first time, Top Glove Boxing Academy in Sudbury is stepping out of the ring and onto the trail for a fundraising run.
“It’s all about just having a lot of fun,” said head coach Gord Apolloni. “That’s what Top Glove is all about. We’re like a family.”
After more than 30 years in the city, the non-profit boxing group took a hit on the chin during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Before COVID we had 120 members, we have 40 now. So it’s … a lot of damage,” said Apolloni.
“It’s really impacted us and you know, it’s just difficult to keep the doors open. The rents are now back up to their normal rates and it’s difficult to make that and so we’re basically having little fundraisers here and there to make ends meet.”
In an effort to keep the space open for everyone who needs it, Top Glove is holding a 5K fundraising run at Kivi Park on Aug. 13.
Over the years, Top Glove has focused on getting kids off the street and into the gym, giving them a positive space to spend their time and energy.
“A lot of the stories that we have at Top Glove are never heard of because it’s fallen behind the scenes,” Apolloni said.
He cited one example of a young boxer whose grades began to slide. So his mother considered pulling him from boxing.
“So I had to have a chat with him … well low and behold, fast forward 20 years and he now has his masters in sports psych, he’s working out west," said Apolloni.
"That’s just one of the stories. There’s many, many more.”
The entry fee for the fundraising run is $40, which includes a T-shirt. Proceeds will go to the boxing academy. So far, 44 people have signed up.
“Sudbury’s been an incredible town to support Top Glove Boxing Academy and we’re very, very lucky to have that,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Galen Weston pushes back on 'misguided criticism' of Loblaw as boycott begins
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston, as well as the company's new chief executive, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a boycott against the company gains steam online.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Quebec premier asks police to dismantle camp at McGill University
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has called on the police to dismantle the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the lower field of McGill University's downtown campus in Montreal.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.