TWELVE-year-old Graeme Munro of Wyvis Place, Inverness Amateur Boxing Club’s first Junior boxer, has made a successful debut into the world of competitive boxing.

He received a standing ovation from an enthusiastic crowd when he appeared as part of a North Scottish Select team fighting a Welsh Select at the Metro Hotel in Aberdeen last month, despite losing to Tom Spence, a far more experienced Welsh lad.

Said Laurie Redfearn of Inverness Amateur Boxing Club: “The crowd were right behind Graeme and he did really well; the Welsh boy had won four contests previously.”

Graeme took a close first round with his neat boxing. In the second round, however, he was caught with a right swing and received a standing count.
Going into the last round the contest was even, but Graeme caught Spence with a good left and right and the referee gave Spence a standing count.

At the end of what had been a great contest, Spence got the verdict by a majority decision.

Graeme is one of the club members who train in the Cameron Youth Club in Planefield Road every week. He has also now appeared on home territory, taking part in a Boxing Night in the Clach Social Club on 26 May, when the Scottish great, Dick McTaggart, was the guest star.

IN HOT pursuit of his 10th athletic title is wheelchair champ sprinter Uisdean MacRae of Nelson Street. Regional heats of the Scottish Track and Field Championships, organised by Sport for the Disabled are being held the first week in June when disabled athletes from all over the Highlands will compete at the Queen’s Park track in Inverness. Winners will go through to the Scottish finals in Meadowbank in September.

Thirty-five year old Uisdean will be competing in the wheelchair sprint events in which he has won a number of titles at everything from 60 metres to 100 metres. But Uisdean, son of an Army man and disabled by cerebral palsy from birth, is not only a sprinter. For he is also in training for the Great North Run, a sponsored event which takes place at Knockhill, Newcastle, on 22 October. He has previously participated in this event, in 1988, and will be competing against athletes equipped with three-wheel chairs.

The Run organisers have queried whether Uisdean’s 20-year-old racing chair is up to it, but Uisdean is confident. “I would bet a £1000 on being able to complete the course,” he said. The run is due to be televised Charities that Uisdean has chosen to benefit from his effort are the MS Centre in Burnett Road, Shopmobility, Cheshire House, and the Inverness Wheelchair Dancing Club.

Dancing is another of Uisdean’s talents, and at the end of this month he will be going to Glasgow with the Highland Flyers dance team. Then there’s the Special Olympics next June, when Uisdean will represent the Highlands in the 100m and 1600m events – but that’s another story.

In the meantime we can only wish him good luck with all his efforts.