Gloucestershire Gym Faces Challenges to Replace Boxing Ring

The boxing ring at Forest Fighting Fit has taken just about all it can.

After years of flooding, constant patch-up jobs and relentless community use, the ring at the Parkend gym in Gloucestershire has been condemned by its own head coach. Not by a formal inspector, but by someone who knows every creak in the boards.

“It’s at the end of its life,” said head coach Michelle Gardiner, who has spent more than a decade nursing it through repairs, patches and heavy use. Now, the verdict is blunt: the ring is unsafe.

A Ring That’s Had Its Last Round

Look closely and the problems jump out. No padding around the posts. Wobbly boards underfoot. Ropes that refuse to stay tight for long. The basic elements that make a ring safe for sparring and competition are failing.

Storm Bert, which hit the Forest of Dean in November 2024, landed a heavy blow. The gym has suffered two flooding incidents, both around the ring. It sits elevated, but not high enough to escape the damp that has seeped into its structure.

“I think a lot of the damp’s got into it,” Gardiner said. The cumulative effect of water damage and wear has pushed the ring beyond another quick fix.

A replacement will cost £3,500. For a small, community-focused gym that has just achieved charity status, that figure is significant. Yet without a ring, the heart of the gym’s boxing work is missing.

Talent Stalled Outside the Ropes

No one feels that loss more sharply than the young fighters who grew up inside those ropes.

Emma Morgan’s daughter, Lily, is one of the gym’s standout success stories. Now 10, she has already competed nationally and internationally after starting at Forest Fighting Fit as a shy four-year-old.

Back then, Morgan remembers a little girl clinging to her leg on her first day. Today, that same girl steps into arenas in front of thousands, competing in kickboxing at the highest level.

“She’s won the WKO World Championship Gold, she’s done two Grand Prix, the European,” Morgan said, listing a résumé that would be impressive for a seasoned adult fighter, let alone a primary school pupil.

Yet even with that pedigree, Lily’s peers are stuck. Without a functioning ring, children who might move from kickboxing into boxing are stalled in their development. They can train, but they cannot truly progress.

“The lack of ring is preventing children from progressing,” Morgan said. The pathway from enthusiastic beginner to confident competitor has been broken at the point where it matters most.

Confidence in the Corners

For Morgan, who now serves as a trustee of the gym, the issue is about far more than medals.

“[A new ring] would bring their confidence up; it’s all about confidence,” she said. The ring, to her, is not just a square of canvas and ropes. It is a stage, a proving ground, and a place where nervous children learn to stand their ground in front of others.

“It’s a really good team atmosphere when we’re all there,” she added. The ring pulls people in, creates focus, and gives shape to the sessions. Without it, something vital is missing from the gym’s daily rhythm.

Forest Fighting Fit caters to a wide range of ages and abilities. Gardiner says members range from four years old to 69, a span that underlines the gym’s role as a community hub as much as a fight school. Sessions are not just about producing champions; they are about fitness, resilience and belonging.

Crowdfunding for the Next Generation

Grant applications have come and gone without success. Gardiner says the gym “had no luck” securing formal funding, so the fight has moved to a different arena: crowdfunding.

A campaign is now under way to raise the £3,500 needed for a new ring, one designed to be safer, more accessible and suitable for participants with disabilities. Local firm Suntory Beverage and Food in Coleford has stepped in to match all donations, effectively doubling every pound given.

For a small charity in a rural community, that support could prove decisive. A new ring would allow Forest Fighting Fit to expand its programmes, open the ropes to more ages and abilities, and restore the full range of boxing work that has been forced to the sidelines.

The old ring is still there, battered and bowed by storms, sweat and time. It tells the story of a decade of graft. The question now is whether the community can rally one more time and fund the platform the next generation needs.