Nauru group arrive in Kendal to give Olympic boost to boxing hopefuls (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Nauru group arrive in Kendal to give Olympic boost to boxing hopefuls

12:11pm Tuesday 5th July 2011 in Patrick O'Kane By Patrick O'Kane, Senior News/Sport Reporter

DURING the next five weeks chairman of Kendal Judo Club Peter Holme will use my blog to discuss the training programme of a group of boxers from the South Pacific at Kendal Dojo.

A group of boxers from Nauru have travelled to Kendal to spend five weeks under the watchful eye of former Team GB national boxing coach and performance director Ian Irwin.

During their time here, Ian hopes to improve their skills and chances of reaching the Olympics in London next summer.

They will be hoping to acclimatise to conditions in the UK while also improving fitness, speed and technique.

Here is Peter's first account, taken from their first day in Kendal, on Sunday.

After a 24 hour flight via Australia, Singapore and Abu Dhabi the Olympic hopeful boxers from Nauru - at just 8.1 square miles, the smallest independent island state in the world - arrived in Kendal.

Despite it being the hottest day of the year in Kendal, the four athletes and their team manager wore thick jackets as they watched the Mayor's Church Parade.

And this is what they are here for. Training at Kendal Judo Club's Dojo the boxers are using the time to get acclimatised to our changing weather so when they come to take part in next year's Olympic Games the change from equatorial temperatures to English does not come as too much of a shock. On Monday they start a strict training regime under the watchful eye of former British Olympic and Commonwealth Boxing team manager Ian Irwin from Windermere.