A new boxing club has been receiving positive support from the community since opening its doors in Rankin Inlet in early March.

The club is being led by Abdallah Butt, who came to Rankin Inlet after being offered employment with Legal Aid.

Butt said he wanted to continue with boxing and learn more about the sport through coaching.

He was involved in the sport previously in Toronto, and also in the United Kingdom while there attending law school.

鈥淚 was doing it a lot more when I came back to Toronto and then I was offered a job with Legal Aid in Rankin Inlet,鈥� said Butt.

鈥淲hen I was planning to move up here, I was looking at the different sports in Rankin Inlet and this community is really athletic.

鈥淭here鈥檚 ton of sports the community loves to do, such as badminton, hockey, of course, volleyball and soccer.

鈥淚 noticed they didn鈥檛 have a regular boxing program, so I thought that would be kind of interesting to get going in Rankin and volunteer my time to give back to the community.鈥�

Butt said once he arrived in the Kivalliq, he connected with recreation director A.J. Curley, who was really helpful in getting him started with the 16-and-older club.

He said Curley wrote a proposal for him and helped the club launch on positive footing.

鈥淚t ended up working out really well and we got a lot of interest really early in the process. And it鈥檚 been really good ever since,鈥� he said.

Butt, 29, has an established track record in both archery and boxing, actually training for the 2020 Olympics in archery while attending university. After giving up archery to concentrate full-time on his law career, he started missing not being involved with a sport and decided to follow in his grandfather鈥檚 footsteps, who grew-up boxing in Kenya, East Africa.

He decided to slow down in boxing when he started to reach the competitive level and concentrate more on coaching in the sport.

Butt said the initial reaction to the new boxing club in Rankin was one of a lot of interest and a lot of curiosity.

He said people continue to be really engaged with it and he sees a lot of interest every time he posts a notice about another session.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the best of times right now 鈥� 5 p.m. until 6 p.m. 鈥� which is right after work for many people. That can make it a little hard for people to get to, but other time slots will soon be opening up.

鈥淚鈥檓 really interested in holding it outdoors during the summer. We just need flat ground to do it on. We鈥檝e received a lot of positive feedback from the community since we first began. So far, those coming out have been young guys, mostly Inuit from the community, which I really, really like.

鈥淲e also get a lot of interest expressed from girls and young women when I post a notice online and I鈥檇 really like to see them start coming out.

鈥淏oxing, traditionally, has a sort of masculinity associated with it, but, maybe, if we do a women-only night, that would make them feel more comfortable to come and workout. I鈥檇 really love to see that.鈥�

The club has been averaging about eight people per session, which the coach expects to see increase over time.

Butt said it would be really cool if, in the future, the club could hold an exhibition fight between local members to raise money for charity.

He said it would be like a sparring session that people could come out and watch.

鈥淚t would be organized like a fight, where you鈥檇 have rounds, the bell, a referee and someone who wins and someone who loses.

鈥淚f I could get it to that level in the next year and a bit, that would be really amazing.

鈥淭hat would be something I鈥檇 really be proud of.鈥�