By Leah Larocque
When Ingrid Meier-Villa signed up for a boxing marathon in April, she wasn’t sure if she was capable of completing the intense training. But her fear soon turned into a commitment to a sport that is gaining popularity in Ottawa.
Meier-Villa is part of a group of athletes who trained and participated in the second-annual Boxathon at Final Round Fitness Gym on June 8 to raise money for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
“It is for an amazing cause and instead of just raising money, I wanted to push myself and actually participate,” says Meier-Villa.
Almost 50 people took part in the innovative fundraising initiative that incorporated months of regularly scheduled training sessions and fundraising pledges. The event drew participants with a variety of fitness levels, each directed by professional boxer Andy Gardiner in their training.
Event organizer Brad Stuart says the diversity of participants in the Boxathon made it unique.
“It’s amazing that you have the expertise and presence of a professional boxer like Andy around to inspire and push everyone,” Stuart highlights. “He is an amazing athlete and person. But all of us are a team. We do everything together as a group, and that is what makes us special.”
The Boxathon itself involved a heavy-bag marathon in which participants punched the heavy bag for 10-second intervals, for 12 three-minute rounds, with a one-minute break between rounds, modeled after the structure of pro boxing matches.
For Ashley Mathieu, the motivation to get involved was to support CHEO and help build awareness for the boxing community in Ottawa.
“CHEO was a second home to me as a kid and this is an opportunity to give back to CHEO in a sport that I love,” Mathieu notes. “I spent 16 years of life in and out of CHEO and never had a chance to give some sweat back to CHEO since they put a lot of sweat into me.”
Boxathon shows sport’s ‘accessibility’
Organizers hoped the event would also act as a bridge between the sport and the community.
“Generally people don’t know how accessible boxing can be,” Stuart explains. “It has been relegated to back alleys and church basements. But boxing is an amazing workout and such team atmosphere – people just don’t know about it.”
That was the case for Meier-Villa, who’s now thankful that the group at Final Round helped her step out of her comfort zone.
“It wasn’t on my bucket list for sure,” she smiles. “But I’m so glad that I did participate.”
The Boxathon gained some notoriety from Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, who was not able to attend the event but lent his support to the cause.
Last year, the Boxathon raised $25,000, and this year it helped CHEO establish a new record total for its annual telethon at over $6.7 million.