ABOUT US

WHO WE ARE

ORIGINALLY FOUNDED IN 1975 (And REBORN IN 2010), BIRCH GREEN A.B.C. HAS PROUDLY SERVED THE SKELMERSDALE COMMUNITY FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS.

WHAT WE DO

We offer a range of opportunities for involvement, from our competitive junior and senior boxing teams to private one-to-one sessions.

We also play a role in building and sustaining the health and well-being in our local community with our project work with schools, the local authority, Police, and through our partnership with Empire Fighting Chance. You can find more details on our ProjectS page. Our range of services includes:

  • Contact and non-contact boxing and fitness training

  • Improving physical fitness

  • Building personal resilience around physical & mental health & well-being

  • Extensive work with Primary and Secondary schools IN THE AREA

  • Youth Crime Prevention Work

  • Our ‘In Your Corner’ Project working with unemployed people to help them back into work through improving health and well-being

  • Social Inclusion classes for people recovering from substance or alcohol misuse

All our COACHING staff and volunteers are qualified England Boxing coaches, first aid trained and DBS checked. YOU CAN LEARN more about our coaching staff here.

OUR HISTORY

Birch Green Amateur Boxing Club was originally established in 1975 by Joe O’Brien (PICTURED CENTRE).

Amongst JOE’S stable of boxers was a young Colin Day. Colin HAD ALWAYS ASPIRED to restart his childhood club AFTER BIRCH GREEN A.B.C. SUDDENLY CLOSED IN THE 1980S FOLLOWING JOE’S TRAGIC PASSING. in 2010, HE AND Michael Riley acquired a former community centre building from West Lancs Council. AFTER Many months of hard work, THEY HAD TURNED WHAT WAS ONCE A run-down BUILDING INTO THE NEW HOME OF BIRCH GREEN amateur boxing club, FINALLY REALISING COLIN’S DREAM FROM ALL THOSE YEARS AGO.

IN 2017, THE CLUB WAS THE VICTIM OF a senseless arson attack. NEARLY Everything was destroyed. IN WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN the end for the club, BIRCH GREEN A.B.C. BOUNCED BACK YET AGAIN, REOPENING ITS DOORS 15 MONTHS LATER, EVEN bigger and better than before, with a completely refurbished gym.

One year after reopening, the doors were SHUT YET again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the club is now BACK AND fully operational, with MULTIPLE CLASSES AND TRAINING SESSIONS. THANKS TO NUMEROUS PROGRAMMES with local schools and COMMUNITY PARTNERS, BIRCH GREEN A.B.C. HAS CONTINUED to use boxing and its PRINCIPLES TO INSPIRE AND EMPOWER YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.

Inspiring and Empowering Young People Through Boxing Since 1975