Boxing ‘beyond a hobby’ for national silver medalist

BY JOHN DECOSTE

Kings County Register

Boxing is beyond a hobby for Chantelle Doucette of Forest Home.

“It’s more of a passion.”

Doucette returned from the 2007 senior national boxing championships this fall with a silver medal in the bantamweight (114-pound) division after winning the provincial championship in her weight class in a walkover in Cape Breton in September.

A 29-year-old mother of two daughters, Doucette has been boxing competitively for about two-and-a-half years. She first got into boxing as a way to stay active, but soon realized she loved the sport - especially the competitive side.

“I was trying to find a way to be more active, and I found that going to the gym just wasn’t stimulating enough,” she says, adding boxing “is certainly exciting.”

Doucette, a shift worker at Michelin, likes “the challenge.

“I like the discipline of boxing, and that there’s always something to strive for and rewards to shoot for.”

Boxing “is a complex sport, both mentally and physically. I find it helps me with life, which can get monotonous at times, and it also helps me be a better role model and inspiration for my children (Chloe is 10 and Rayanne almost seven).”

Doucette went to provincials in Cape Breton, only to find neither of the two opponents she could have fought were able to do so.

“It was disappointing, to win in a walkover after travelling that far, but the good thing was I got to advance to nationals where I was able to compete against opponents at my own skill level. Unfortunately, the competition just isn’t there locally.”

Doucette is experiencing the same problem as all female boxers in Nova Scotia: low numbers, especially at the senior level, make it hard to gain competitive experience.

“I competed at nationals with just 14 fights, and some of my opponents had more than 60.”

Doucette defeated Veronica Struss from Alberta in her opening bout at nationals, stopped by the ring officials in the second round.

She then went the distance with national champion Natalie Forget from Quebec, more than holding her own before losing on points and settling for silver.

Doucette was pleased with her performance.

“I felt I finally got to box someone who was able to challenge me.”

As the silver medalist, Doucette is now able to challenge Forget for her championship at a national box-off in Ontario in late January. She needs to defeat Forget twice to qualify for the national A team; even if she loses, she is eligible for the B team.

She would like to attend the box-offs but, without any provincial support, will need to pay her own expenses. She is currently exploring fundraising possibilities.

“Competing at nationals let me know my strengths and weaknesses, and showed me the things I need to work on,” she says. “My goal now is to beat Natalie and get to her level - and beyond. There’s never any lack of motivation in competitive boxing.”

Doucette’s partner, Luke Moore, is a former competitive boxer with the Evangeline Trail Amateur Boxing Club who competed at nationals several times. She admits Moore’s support and encouragement “has been a big help to me,” along with the experience of Wayne Downey, at whose Tiger Boxing Club (on Belcher Street, between Kentville and Port Williams) she currently trains.

“I’d like to get onto the national team, which would give me more opportunites to box,” she says. “It would be exciting to get the chance to travel and even attend some training camps, which I can’t afford to attend myself.”

She would also “like to be part of the push to make women’s boxing part of the Olympics,” possibly as soon as 2012. With only three more years of competitive boxing open to her, the Olympics aren’t an option personally but, as she points out, “I have other goals. Eventually, I’d like to use my experience to help younger girls learn the sport.”