i am thinking of opening a pro/am gym for people who are serious about there boxing or for people who just want to hit a bag but i dont know how to go about it here are a couple of the questions i need to know about
1)how do i go about finding a place?
2)who do i ask about funding?
3)who is the best person to speak to in the council about finding a place
i live in the south of england and it would cost a pretty penny to lease a place to use permanently to enable me to have a ring/bags/mirrors up all the time so if i could speak to the right department of a council maybe there would be a school or somewhere with a room thats not being used i already have a coaching badge so that wouldnt be a problem but i know there will be lots of other problems so any ideas on what would be the best approach and also on what problems i will come across would be greatly appreciated
1) I reckon you'll need to find the location yourself. Try the local schools, I used to train in a gym underneath a working mens club, all you need is a decent sized room. Tell as many people as possible what you're looking for.
2) tbh I think you'll be lucky to get any funding, but as I say I'm no expert.
3) I'd just give your local council a call and explain your problem to whoever answers the phone and see if they can point you in the right direction
if you get on well with others in the trade, and they are not in the next town along the road, ask them... they probably know the pitfalls. try the fighter finder on here to see if there are lots of fighters in your target area too
There isnt really enough funding to go round the existing clubs so it would be doubtfull you would get any money to start a new gym unles there isnt one within a 50 mile radius.
As for venue etc, you'll need to find that yourself, kit it out yourself and try to run it for a while without going under and then start applying for funding, but again you'll be in against everyone elses applications as well.
On top of you coaching badge, you will need child protection courses for all coaches, first aid for enought to cover the amount of members in the gym at one time, fire and saftey regulations etc.
Good luck and I wish you all the best but be warned now it is no easy task to undertake and dont start it if you are going to pull out in a few months time when you are losing a serious amount of your own money and time.
PS - funding is a pain too, we recently were awarded £250,00 to help rebuild our gym, the catch we have to match that amount in our own bank account before they will release a penny.
rasputin wrote:i live in the south of england and it would cost a pretty penny to lease a place to use permanently to enable me to have a ring/bags/mirrors up all the time so if i could speak to the right department of a council maybe there would be a school or somewhere with a room thats not being used i already have a coaching badge so that wouldnt be a problem but i know there will be lots of other problems so any ideas on what would be the best approach and also on what problems i will come across would be greatly appreciated
rasputin wrote:i am thinking of opening a pro/am gym for people who are serious about there boxing or for people who just want to hit a bag but i dont know how to go about it here are a couple of the questions i need to know about
1)how do i go about finding a place?
2)who do i ask about funding?
3)who is the best person to speak to in the council about finding a place
i live in the south of england and it would cost a pretty penny to lease a place to use permanently to enable me to have a ring/bags/mirrors up all the time so if i could speak to the right department of a council maybe there would be a school or somewhere with a room thats not being used i already have a coaching badge so that wouldnt be a problem but i know there will be lots of other problems so any ideas on what would be the best approach and also on what problems i will come across would be greatly appreciated
Get hold of Arnie Farnell mate!!!
He opened up a gym when he retired - its not easy!!! and requires a backer!!
Went to the opening of Arnies gym - bloody nice place - but it needs the punters coming through the door - and what with the so called credit crunch in full swing - you need to get your sums right!!!
The boxing community is normally good with newcomers.
I would strongly recommend you speak to someone who has seen it / done it.
Happy to give you a couple of numbers for people here in the North that I'm sure will give you some of their precious time !
PM me if you want the numbers.
rasputin wrote:i live in the south of england and it would cost a pretty penny to lease a place to use permanently to enable me to have a ring/bags/mirrors up all the time so if i could speak to the right department of a council maybe there would be a school or somewhere with a room thats not being used i already have a coaching badge so that wouldnt be a problem but i know there will be lots of other problems so any ideas on what would be the best approach and also on what problems i will come across would be greatly appreciated
Whereabouts in the South? :)
in portsmouth mate
thanks for your advice lads so basically it looks as if im on my own as far as money goes but to ask the councils about a place for it?
would it be worth going to schools e.t.c in the area and asking them or doing it all through the councils?
rasputin wrote:i live in the south of england and it would cost a pretty penny to lease a place to use permanently to enable me to have a ring/bags/mirrors up all the time so if i could speak to the right department of a council maybe there would be a school or somewhere with a room thats not being used i already have a coaching badge so that wouldnt be a problem but i know there will be lots of other problems so any ideas on what would be the best approach and also on what problems i will come across would be greatly appreciated
Whereabouts in the South? :)
in portsmouth mate
thanks for your advice lads so basically it looks as if im on my own as far as money goes but to ask the councils about a place for it?
would it be worth going to schools e.t.c in the area and asking them or doing it all through the councils?
Health & Safety is a biggie whenever you open a public premise.
Fire Alarm, Fire extinguishers, Emergency lighting, electrical test certificates etc.
Usually the average guy who likes to box/train is a blue collar worker - if you can ask around and see what skill sets they possess like electricians, gas men etc, then offer some sort of reduced/free membership in return for their help then you can overcome many of these items.
Then with regards sponsorship, you could well see what supplement companies are knocking about in your neck of the woods - and see if they want to back the gym somewhat - you can then call the gym in their company name and also sell all of their products behind the counter.
Last of all get a local or regional celebrity boxer to have a word with the council on your behalf to see what they can drum up - believe me it works.
Then lastly once you have your new premises, look at getting the local rag and your celebrity boxer friends to do a half page special in the sports pages to spread the word of your existence.
Good luck with it mate - i'm sure it's not as difficult as you think, maybe just a bit of a drawn-out process.
If it was me I would try to hook up with a gym that is already running, offer to put boxing classes in their gym. That way your outlay will be alot lower - they already have the customers, the contacts, do the advertising, etc.
They should already have all the health and safety standards in place and you can just start a little club from inside of their gym.
Apparently, to get to be an ABA accredited gym (and thus get monies and funds from Sport England) you need to be so many miles from the nearest gym and some gyms don't like new gyms opening on their 'patch'
and thus can block your application.
I wish we had more guys like you willing to open gyms because thats what would make boxing as a participation sport take off - sadly - the English ABA - run by old tossers, stuffed shirts, self serving politicos will get in your way and hinder you more often than not!
Good luck Rasputin! The best gym I was ever with was a room in a community centre where we would help the gaffer put the heavy bags up before training! No need for fancy stuff in my opinion to be a good gym.
Carlos-Wigan wrote:sadly - the English ABA - run by old tossers, stuffed shirts, self serving politicos will get in your way and hinder you more often than not! .
Why don't you go with Billy and do a session at Jack Bishops and pick his brain?? Jacks is good but its not pretty, underneath a bridge and when I went years ago used to leak when it rained!
Also in Southampton is the other end of the spectrum, Ocean Gym, its quite pretty and has monthly subscriptions:
you will lose a ton of money if you want a stand alone amatuer gym - there is seriously no money in that in terms of revenue.
However, if you start up a gym for pros and offer martial arts classes and the oh-so-popular-at-the-moment MMA classes (think big $$s) then you stand a chance of making a go of it.
check local council by laws to see if they will alllow a gym facility in the area you intend to open in - if you are looking to use a pre-existing shed/industrial unit - councils can be surprisingly strict about where these are located.
check your market - as others have said see how many boxing gyms, kickboxing gyms and other similar facilities are located locally - you may be stepping in to an already saturated market otherwise.
Follow the 'Club Guidelines' menu and you'll find a file specifically relating to setting up a club. From the 'Clubmark Scheme' menu you'll find information relating to standards of practice for clubs for young people.
The best gym I was ever with was a room in a community centre where we would help the gaffer put the heavy bags up before training! No need for fancy stuff in my opinion to be a good gym.