Mandy Hobart has received the 2026 BBC Radio Guernsey Make a Difference Award for her long-running work in boxing and community training. Her work reaches children, older adults, and people living with Parkinson’s disease.
She spends hours each week coaching at the Amalgamated Boxing Club, local after-school clubs, and specialist sessions.
Hobart first became involved with boxing more than 20 years ago, when the club opened its doors to women. She soon noticed that many children attended the club but had little focused coaching.
“I realised there was lots of children there but not really anyone focusing on the children,” she said.
She began helping youngsters with pad work. Her role then grew into coaching, and she later took charge of the club’s junior program. Although she had never boxed before, Hobart went on to become a Level Two coach and a judge.
Her work now covers more than regular boxing sessions. She created separate classes for children with additional needs and introduced boxing sessions for people with Parkinson’s disease.
Support Beyond the Boxing Ring
Dean Lee has attended the Parkinson’s sessions for three months since his diagnosis. He praised Hobart’s “endless enthusiasm” and the support she provides during training.
“She loves seeing us here and helping us though our daily lives,” Lee said.
He also described a physical benefit from the sessions. “When I go home my right arm is a lot better having been in a session of boxing with Mandy.”
Hobart said the value of boxing goes well beyond physical training, especially for young people.
“I just see the good it does in everybody, mainly the children – giving them confidence, self-esteem and just belief in themselves and feel more confident in the world,” she said.
A Major Goal for the Club
The Amalgamated Boxing Club has also been working toward a new facility in St Martin’s. Before the Covid pandemic, plans called for a £500,000 rebuild. However, the expected cost later doubled.
The club eventually reached its £1 million fundraising target in the summer.
“We just want to create a nice environment for the adults and children, make it more enjoyable and a safer place to train,” Hobart said. “I think I’m still quite overwhelmed by it but having reached that goal, it’s just going to be amazing.”
Keni Domaille from the Amalgamated Boxing Club described Hobart’s commitment as constant.
“Mandy works around the clock, seven days a week,” Domaille said. “When she isn’t physically here, she’s at home or in the schools still working… she’s helping the community, she’s out advocating for the sport.”
Domaille added, “She honestly doesn’t stop, I do wonder what the club would do if we didn’t have her, she’s everything to the club.”
Recognition for Community Work
Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey Sir Richard Cripwell also praised Hobart’s contribution. He highlighted the “life skills that come from the sport that she’s promoting.”
“All of those things I think really did make a difference,” he said.
Hobart said the award was meaningful, but recognition was never her main reason for coaching.
“My reward is seeing the kids and seeing that improvement and seeing them realise that improvement,” she said.
Mandy Hobart’s 2026 BBC Radio Guernsey Make a Difference Award recognizes years of coaching, community work, and support for people of different ages and abilities.
Her work with young boxers, children with additional needs, and people with Parkinson’s disease has made the club’s role broader than boxing alone.
