Guiseley fighters delighted to have permanent base once again
REPORT BY: JAMES BOVINGTON
FIGHTERS at Aireborough Muay Thai in Guiseley are delighted to be back in their permanent home following two years of temporary accommodation albeit on the same site on Netherfield Road in the town.
“We’re grateful to premises owner Austin Ramsden for funding the complete refurbishment of the large room we’d been using for years and for having rehoused us nearby to reduce disruption during the works,” said chief coach Alan Burnley.
“We’ve about twenty-five attending weekly and ten fighting on shows but now that we’re enjoying a fully renovated facility with some new equipment, we’re sure our club will grow both in numbers participating and competitive strength. These are our goals for 2025.”
Teenage fighters Harvey Westcott, 16, and Marcus Nutman, 15, are confident the larger facilities and better equipment will improve their boxing performance.
“We feel more motivated to train intensively seeing the effort of Alan and others to provide us with the best,” said Nutman.
“We’re aiming eventually to competing in the elite ONE Muay Thai championship,” Westcott added.
“For us at Aireborough an international fighting future beckons, and we’re totally focused on it.”
Fifty-eight-year-old Burnley’s background in mental health nursing contributed to him establishing the Aireborough club in 2008 “to help young people improve their mental and physical health through focus, discipline and commitment to a challenging sport which allows firm friendships to develop both in the team and with opponents.”
Burnley added: “We’ve taken groups of fighters to competitions in Spain. Some have gone to Thailand including Ellis Cooke and Frankie Brimacombe, with Frankie now having joined me as a qualified coach.
“We’re also pleased that several of our fighters join the Armed Forces including the RAF Marines and are proud that the training here helped the prepare for military service. It’s also good that Muay Thai has recently been formally recognised as a sport in which military personnel are encouraged to participate.”
To help these fighters achieve their goal the club needs sponsorship. Interested individuals and companies should contact Alan Burnley on Facebook or at atbguiseley@live.co.uk or at 07741 476573.
