The future of boxing is in safe hands as Powerday and George Groves presents annual bursaries for 10 amateur boxers
The next generation of Islington boxers received a welcome boost last week as Powerday, the capital’s leading independent waste management company, announced a string of bursaries for 2024/25 through its charitable arm, The Powerday Foundation, formally presented by former world champion George Groves.
With the Olympic Games just weeks away, two aspiring youngsters from Islington were awarded with 12-month grants to help them achieve their dreams of competing at a professional level.
These include Demi Rose Greenidge and Dorian Scamardella who will benefit from a range of opportunities as a result of the programme.
Now in its ninth year, the scheme – the only commercial bursary of its kind – was created to support ambitious amateur boxers.
Since 2015 it has helped more than 80 youngsters achieve their potential at regional, national and international level, including Olympic Bronze medallist, Caroline Dubois and World Junior Silver Medallist, Damar Thomas.
2024 Bursary Winners
This year, 10 recipients overall were presented with their bursaries by former WBA super-middleweight boxer, George Groves.
Over the next 12-months, the funding will enable these elite young boxers to continue their training, purchase the best quality kit and travel to the most important national and international championships.
This year’s Powerday Boxing Bursary winners are:
Billy Dean Smith (Repton Boxing Club)
Demi Rose Greenidge (Islington Boxing Club)
Dorian Scamardella (Islington Boxing Club)
Finny Baker (Rainham Boxing Club)
George Ralph (Rainham Boxing Club)
George Francis (Repton Boxing Club)
Humza Malik (Repton Boxing Club)
Jamie Barrett (Powerday Hooks Boxing Club)
Lily Dolling (Harrow Boxing Club)
Tommy Catanach (Newham Boxing Club)
Edward Crossan, CEO of Powerday, commented: “As a London-based, family-owned company, we are committed to making a positive difference to the lives of people living in the Capital. Our bursary is a key part of our community engagement, playing an invaluable role in helping young Londoners realise their potential.
“While the top-end of the sport is now well funded, particularly for athletes within the high-performance programmes, our Bursary scheme aims to bridge the gap between regional and international standards and funding.
“Boxing clubs provide local communities with so many positive messages and lessons. We look forward to working with this year’s bursary winners and hope that they will go on to reach the levels of excellence and high performance that our previous award winners have achieved.”
Lenny Hagland, Chairman of London Boxing, added: “While there is a strong support mechanism at the top of high performance in British sport, it is the small margins that can make the difference to young aspiring boxers, and the Powerday Foundation Boxing Bursary offers essential funding to those who are in need of further support to fulfil their potential and achieve international standard.
“We thank Mick and Edward Crossan of Powerday for this unique investment into our young athletes and also their continued support through the Powerday Foundation and Development Programme which underpins the club system in the hardest to reach and most marginalised estates across London.”