After 69 years of operation, days are now numbered for the Regina Boxing Club. A notice was posted on the club’s door and website saying operations are suspended as of Dec. 16.
The club operated through fundraising efforts but they were unable to keep up with payments to stay open.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” Boxing Saskatchewan president and Regina Boxing Club coach Scott Hubic said. “There is still other clubs, but the Regina Boxing Club has been around, it’s been the longest standing boxing club and been a lifestyle throughout many households in Regina.”
“The history that you lose with the Regina Boxing Club, you can never get back and there has been a lot of people affected by it.”
Ken Goff started the club in 1949, his son George Goff later took over as president. Through the decades the club has seen more than 6,000 athletes.
Trevor MacDonald started taking his kids to box there last year.
“It’s going to be sad to see it go,” MacDonald said. “It seemed like it was fairly short notice and just kind of happened abruptly.”
MacDonald said he is going to talk to his kids to see where they will go from here. With the closure of this club, it still leaves three more boxing centres in the city.
“I feel bad for George because he is a very passionate guy this is his life and you never want to see those guys have to shut their doors,” MacDonald said.
The end of the club, will also mean good-bye to the Ken Goff Memorial Boxing Classic. The tournament brought in elite athletes from across Canada and the United States.
“It put a spotlight on amateur boxing, it was the biggest amateur boxing event in North America and it was one of the biggest dinner shows in Canada for sure. It meant a lot to the Canadian National Team,” Hubic said.
“Every year it was used as a tune up exercise or a training exercise or a competitive bench marking to see how our national team is doing. We’ve had teams from Germany, England, Wales, France, Mexico, the U.S. a number of times.”
“So it meant a lot to the Canadian boxing community, not just in Regina and Saskatchewan.”
Global News reached out to George Goff for comment but he didn’t respond.