Speak to any elder in Brewarrina and their eyes will light up with excitement when they speak of the old boxing events, the tent fights, and the fighting spirit the Brewarrina community exhibited ‘back in the day’.

As the community unites to discuss service options for its youth, the NSW Police have come to town to promote a great new program specially designed for youngsters in the community. 

Yes, it’s time to bring boxing back to Brewarrina! 

In 2022 the NSW Police Youth Command and NSW PCYC launched a sporting partnership industry program which included the NRL, AFL, SLSA and Boxing Australia.

 Designed to engage at-risk youth, the ‘Fit for Life’ and 'Fight for Success' programs are an evolution of that partnership, and their goal is to divert at-risk youth toward meaningful activities and life changing programs.

 These programs have been achieving incredible success and perhaps are best explained by real outcomes.

PHOTO: The kids playing football with the police horses. 

 In the PCYC 2022 Annual Impact Statement NSW Police Youth Commander Superintendent Samuel Crisafulli commented, ‘One man pulled me aside at a ‘Fit for Life’ session and told me that when he first came to the PCYC he was anxious, depressed, and suicidal. Three years later he is at university, has a job, and is thriving. This is but one story of many’. 

Last Monday Brewarrina Central School was overtaken by a stream of Police cars, Police in uniform, Police on horseback. . . It was a force to be reckoned with. 

Their job wasn’t traditional policing however, they were in town for one reason and that was to entice our youth to ‘fight for success’.

Mr Crisafulli spoke positively about NSW Police’s commitment to "work with community and partners to positively engage with youth’ and to connect with ‘young people at risk of adverse contact with the criminal justice system in an attempt to divert them from offending."

 The first stage of the program will see PCYC and Clontarf unite to hold group boxing for fitness classes at Brewarrina Central School at 7.30am on Thursday mornings, starting in term 4. 

As the program matures additional sessions will be introduced with a skills-focus and the program will also evolve to upskill qualified instructors and coaches from within the community. 

Brewarrina has been a breeding ground for young talented athletes and today’s youth are clearly responded positively to the new program. 

It will be exciting to see the community unite with the schools, Police, and PCYC as they expand the youth options on offer. Who knows? Maybe Bre has some champion coaches and boxing superstars ready to step up and start fighting for success. 

The same program is also being rolled out in conjunction with the PCYCs in Bourke and Walgett.