LAC LA BICHE – The Lac La Biche Boxing Club will be hosting its annual ‘Spring Break Up’ fundraising fight card on May 3.
According to coach Jeremy Trimble, those who attend the 2025 edition of ‘Spring Break Up’ will get to watch a variety of amateur boxing.
Boxers as young as 10 years old will be competing for the first time, along with seasoned veterans, national level competitors, and Canadian champions who have 30 to 80 bouts under their belts.
“The night is always entertaining, sometimes inspiring, and it’s proven to be as uplifting for the crowd to see young men and women persevere and give it their all in the ring as it is for the athletes to see how much support they have from our community,” said Trimble.
Spring Break Up 2025 will feature boxers from Alberta and Saskatchewan, including competitors from the Lac La Biche area. Last year, the event drew 36 boxers who fought in 18 bouts, and officials with the club are hoping for at least that many, if not more, at this year’s event.
Some members of the local boxing club who will be stepping into the ring to fight and showcase their skills include Andy Cardinal, Matthew Kruk, Rio Ladouceur, Reese Berland, and Josh Kamke.
“Spring Break Up has always been pivotal for our young boxers and even our senior athletes to get the opportunity to compete in front of a hometown crowd,” Trimble said.
Training
For boxers such as Ladouceur, preparing for the upcoming Spring Break Up event has meant a lot of time dedicated to training, which includes lots of running. Ladouceur will be competing in the 52-54 kg weight class and the junior fighter category. He looks forward to entering the ring to fight in front of a hometown crowd.
“I feel good . . . I feel confident . . . I know it will go the right way,” he said.
Kamke has also been putting in quite a few hours of training as he gets ready for the event.
The 14-year-old, who has been boxing for the past few years, will be competing in the 81+ kg heavyweight category. He is keeping a positive outlook as he prepares to fight.
“I feel good about it,” Kamke said.
First Spring Break Up
Kruk is looking forward to competing in Spring Break Up for the first time. While he didn’t fight in last year’s Spring Break Up, he did help during the event.
“I gloved up competitors last year,” he said.
Kruk, who will be fighting in the elite open boxer category in the 60-65 kg weight class, has been busy getting ready for the upcoming fight, and this includes running five miles a day and doing a lot of sparring.
Last year’s Spring Break Up, was an “incredible success,” according to Trimble, and the boxing club received great feedback from the community. More than 200 people turned out at the Bold Centre to watch the bouts, and organizers are hoping for a sellout crowd again this year.
Money raised from Spring Break Up allow the club to compete more, but also allows for the purchase of protective equipment, gloves, boxing boots, along with insurance, fuel, accommodations, and team meals.
This year, because of the success of the last Spring Break Up, the club was able to attend fight cards every month since September, going as far as Saskatoon, Medicine Hat, Calgary.
The event, Trimble continued, makes it possible for the club to exist, and changes the lives of many young people by giving them a chance to compete at a level they may not have thought possible, while learning life lessons and discipline along the way.
“We are extremely grateful to share the success and trials and tribulations with these young men and women as coaches, and we hope that Spring Break Up will give the community a glimpse of how hard these young people work and how proud they are to represent Lac La Biche as well as showcase the same pride, sportsmanship and work ethic from the other young men and woman from boxing gyms throughout Alberta and Canada,” he said.
The event gets underway at the Bold Centre, with doors opening at 5 p.m. The Lac La Biche Boxing Club is selling ringside dinner tables for $1,000 a table, which seats eight people. This includes a meal. Dinner is at 5:30 p.m., while the action kicks off at 6:30 p.m.
There will also be general admission at the door.
