THE head coach of Rosyth Boxing Club has spoken of her pride after they secured four medals at a prestigious national competition.

Vikki Fairweather, along with youngsters Calum McCluskey, Cari McManus and Katie Fox, represented the club at the Boxing Scotland 2018 Novice Championships, which were held over the final two weekends in October.

The event, at the Ravenscraig Regional Sport Centre, attracted around 400 boxers – including from Dunfermline and Trench boxing clubs – to battle it out for medals and Rosyth's quartet performed admirably, bringing home one gold and two silver medals.

Head coach Vikki, who took over at the club in 2014 and last year won a silver medal at the iconic Haringey Box Cup in London, was in action in the Elite Female 64kg category and became a national champion by defeating Glasgow City's Taylor Hood by unanimous decision.

That success came on the final day of competition, which also saw Katie, 13, win silver in the Schoolgirl A 50kg category after Drumchapel's Leila Reilly got the judges' nod on a split decision, while Cari, 11, competed well in her first-ever bout 24 hours before against Doon Valley's Ellie Bunyan, who took Schoolgirl B 52kg gold.

Although a defeat to North Glasgow's Iain McAllister on day one, in the Youth 2001 64kg category, prevented Calum, 17, from making it a clean sweep of Rosyth medals, an elated Vikki, 31, said: "I can't even begin to say how proud I am of everyone stepping into the ring, and how thankful I am to the other coaches our strong committee members who put a lot of their time into running the club.

"I had four of our boxers, including myself, enter into the championships with myself winning the gold, Katie and Cari coming away with a silver medal, and our boy Calum having a great fight against a well-matched opponent.

"My first fight was against a girl called Carla Rodrigues, who I gave a quick eight-count to after landing plenty of clean shots to stop her in the first round, securing my place in the final.

"I was met with a very tough girl from Glasgow called Taylor Hood. It was a busy fight and I also gave Taylor a standing eight-count in the third round, but she recovered well. We continued to box and we both gave it everything, but I won unanimously and it was the best feeling ever."

She continued: "Cari was proud of her performance in her first-ever bout.

"Her more experienced opponent came out fast, meaning Cari had to make use of her good defensive skill, and after settling into the fight she used what she learned in training to see her through all three rounds."

Fellow silver medallist Katie commented: "I really enjoyed my fight in the novices this year. I was happy with my performance against a strong competitor and was proud to come away with a silver medal.

"I can't wait to get back in the ring."

Despite missing out on a podium place, Calum described the experience as "amazing", and said: "The feeling you get when you step through the ropes into the ring is like nothing else.

"I put everything into my training and got to go in there and do what I love to do. Knowing I had my coach in my corner and my brother in the crowd made the experience that little bit more special."

Vikki added: "I'm proud I am the first champion of my own club. It feels amazing and I couldn’t have done anything without Pat Callaghan – the one who started it all.

"He has been a diamond and the most supportive person ever, who has always believed in me."

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