Yesterday evening, Prince Harry launched a campaign to help at-risk youngsters campaign with a visit to a boxing club in London.
Boxing enthusiast Prince Harry’s first visit was to the Double Jab Amateur Boxing Club in New Cross, South East London.
Prince Harry visited Doublle Jab boxing club in London to see how sport can help young people and communities. (Kensington Palace)
In the coming months, Harry will be embarking on a series of engagements and meetings around British community sports clubs on a nationwide tour that focuses to help youngsters at risk.
Double Jab is a non-profit organisation and is located in one of UK’s most deprived areas. It aims to keep prices low so that everyone gets an opportunity to practise sports. Besides sports they play a major role in helping youngsters providing them with education and employability skills support sessions and linking them to local businesses.
Prince Harry in the boxing ring today – sadly without gloves pic.twitter.com/u0NrrXzdGL
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) June 6, 2016
A Palace spokesman said: “Prince Harry is embarking on a series of engagements and meetings to highlight the power that sport can have to help vulnerable young people.”
“Community support groups play a vital role in using the power of sport to improve the life changes of disadvantaged young people,” he said.
Prince Harry spoke with coaches and members of the local community, which teaches teens ‘Jab don’t stab’, in a bid to steer them away from crime and gangs. It has taught 300 the art of boxing through a scheme called Punchathon, and offers gender neutral classes for all ages.
Video: Prince Harry and (future world champion!) Raymond Harris, four. pic.twitter.com/qsoHyGjRWX
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) June 6, 2016
The Prince watches a gender neutral boxing class at Double Jab (Kensington Palace)
The 31-year-old Royal also handed out medals to young boxers and then posed for a group photo raising their fists to the camera, but didn’t have a go at the sport himself, unlike a visit to Olympic Park a few weeks ago, with brother William, and Kate.
Sitting in the boxing ring with the club’s team and chairty SportEd, Prince Harry discussed the power of sport, how it helps young people and communities.
The former Army captain asked Ola, an athlete who has boxed at the club since 2012: “Do you see this place as being a refuge?”
Harry gave out medals to amateur boxers yesterday. (Kensington Palace)
“If things all around you are falling to pieces, this is the one thing that is there for you, then?’
“I have to say you all look as if you are built for boxing. I feel a bit nervous!”
Ola later replied: “He asked us whether it was a place that everyone was welcome. Some people, like myself, come here to get fit or lose weight and get hooked. Others come for different reasons. But what is great that you can put everything outside here behind you and concentrate on their sport.”
Harry plans to work alongside charities such as Sported, which supports over 3,000 community sport clubs and youth groups across the UK.
An aide said he had already made a private visit to the club and it is likely he will return to the facility.
