Alice Springs’ Arrernte Community Boxing Academy nabs national sports award in Brisbane
An Alice Springs boxing academy – up against some tough competition – has nabbed a prestigious national award, but the co-founders say it’s not the only bit of big news from this year. Find out more.
An Alice Springs boxing academy “hasn’t changed how we operate,” the co-founders say, who’ve returned home with a national award in tow.
Beating out the likes of the Fitzroy Stars and Koori Academy Basketball, the Arrernte Community Boxing Academy has been named 2025’s national community sporting academy of the year by the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sports Awards.
The academy was given the award in Brisbane, with co-founders Jason Lord and Stephanie Stone making the journey from Alice Springs in November for the ceremony.
“We’re still pinching ourselves – it hasn’t changed how we operate,” Mr Lord said.
Charlie King, who’s the voice behind Darwin’s ABC grandstand every Saturday, was also named national sports media of the year the same night.
Co-event organiser for the The Indigenous Sports Network Nathan Lovett-Murray said the award winners showcased “black excellence in sport” during an “amazing night”.
Earlier in the year, Arrernte Boxing also took out a 2025 NAIDOC week next generation community impact award as well.
Speaking from their new gym in Alice Springs, Ms Stone and Mr Lord say it’s not about the awards.
Instead, the pair said their gym instead focuses on smashing stigmas and giving kids a supportive environment to be in.
Ms Stone said the academy prioritises “sharing the love of boxing” because the sport “still doesn’t have a good reputation”.
“You can read the comments on the Facebook page and ‘you’re teaching that person to do whatever’ – but it’s not about that, it’s about discipline and self control and self respect and being able to listen,” she said.
Elaborating further, Mr Lord – who’s had his fair share time in the ring, having won a gold medal at the Australian Amateur Boxing Championships – said it’s about the “three C’s”: culture, care, and control.
“We’ve had a lot of kids or a lot of young people or just anybody in general in the past or that are here today that have struggled with how they operate in terms of anger issues … this place helps regulate all that,” he said.
With the end of the year approaching, the founders said they’re working towards a busy 2026, with programs planned through their outreach program Boxing Connect.
Currently, in between juggling full time jobs, Mr Lord travels out to remote communities to provide outreach programs to youth in need.
He’s hoping to expand the program next year, he said, while also focusing on the gym in Alice Springs – working with local organisations to help share the power of boxing.
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Originally published as Alice Springs’ Arrernte Community Boxing Academy nabs national sports award in Brisbane
