When twin brothers Chris and Gary Vautour were growing up in the 1980s their interest in boxing was spurred by the Rocky movies and friends who were involved in the sport.
The brothers had to travel out of the city to train because there were no boxing gyms in Guelph at the time.
Now Chris and Gary are passing on the sport to vulnerable youth in the basement of Royal City Church in downtown Guelph.
“There is boxing available in Guelph, but at a cost,” said Chris. “We are trying to make it available as not just a place to do fitness and self defence, but also to have a chance to compete, just like you would at a boxing club.”
The brothers started Royal City Youth Boxing in the spring as a way to give back some of the mentorship they received over the years.
Classes are held twice a week at no cost to participants. The non-profit is linked to Guelph Children’s Foundation and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“If a person didn’t have the money, they aren’t eligible to stay in a business-type facility,” said Gary. “We experienced that a few times. This way we can bring in people and they don’t need to have money.”
There is a $105 annual fee for participants to be registered under Boxing Ontario. If they are eligible, the fees may be covered under the Free to Play program operated by Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington.
“Any of those youth in the community can come out and know they have an opportunity to come here at no cost to them,” said Chris.
Growing up, the brothers did everything together, including travelling to Kitchener and Toronto to train at boxing gyms when none were available in Guelph.
“We grew up with just a mom, so we never had anyone to drive us anywhere, so we would take the bus,” said Chris.
Around the same time boxing gyms returned to Guelph in the late 90s, the brothers began coaching and have continued their own training.
“We were there six days a week coaching,” said Chris. “We do everything together.”
“For us, we feel inspired by the coaches we had. We know their dedication and what they did for the people they had under their wings,” said Gary.
Now everything has come full circle. The Rocky movies are back in the form of Creed and Creed II, and the brothers are now using their own expertise to pass the sport on to a new generation.
The basement space at Royal City Church is provided free of charge, but does not include a ring or other ammenities usually found in a boxing gym. The brothers are taking a spartan approach, teaching fundamentals like footwork and technique sparring — the only physical contact that is made is between the gloves hitting the pads of the instructor.
Gary said he and his brother have trained in similar circumstances, when a boxing gym was not available.
“We know it can be done this spartan kind of way. The most important thing is the coaches,” he said. “It’s important to give back the skills that have been given to me.”
Royal City Youth Boxing operates Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Contact [email protected] for more information.
