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Shaw Centre Hosts Ringside for Youth XXIV for the Sixth Consecutive Year

Published on June 22, 2018

Shaw Centre hosted Ringside for Youth XXIV for the sixth consecutive year on Thursday June 7, 2018 with a sold-out crowd of 1200 guests. Very few fundraisers in Ottawa have gone the distance quite like this one, an annual dinner and boxing night that has raised millions of dollars for the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa.

The evening started off in Shaw Centre’s Parliament Foyer where guests mixed and mingled before entering Canada Hall where the feature event and dinner was held. Canada Hall’s event space was completely transformed into an arena-like atmosphere featuring a regulation-sized ring surrounded by bright lights and banners.

The boxing matches featured several amateur fighters, both male and female, from Ottawa’s Beaver Boxing Club, St. Catharines, Montreal and Gothenburg, Sweden. Former professional boxer and undefeated light heavyweight champion, Andre Michael Ward, was the event’s special guest. Past guests have included Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Ken Norton, Gerry Cooney, Larry Holmes, Roberto Duran, Smokin’ Joe Frazier and Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas ‘Hitman’ Hearns.

This year’s event was presented by former Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, Manulife Investments, Mark Motors of Ottawa and CIBC Wood Gundy with many other Ottawa businesses present and individually participating in the evening’s festivities. Steve Gallant, branch manager and vice president with CIBC Wood Gundy founded the event, now in its 24th year, to help the Boys and Girls Club, a non-profit organization that offers everything from homework and computer clubs to sports and recreational activities to summer camps and academic scholarships for at-risk youth. In total, the Ringside for Youth event has raised over $3 million to date.

ABOUT RINGSIDE FOR YOUTH

Ringside for Youth is all about giving back. Every year more than 1,200 people attend the event and help ‘give back’ for the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club. Going into its 23rd year, Ringside for Youth has raised over $3 million for the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club.


ABOUT BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF OTTAWA

Every year, more than 4,500 children and youth walk through the doors of the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa. The club offers a safe haven where kids can build positive relationships and develop solid life skills. They also learn about giving back to the community. Membership is free. Money raised at Ringside for Youth goes towards the many activities offered by the club, including the after-school programs and Camp Smitty. The Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa has been reaching out to children and youth in the community since 1923. Visit www.bgccan.com and find out more about this local institution.


ABOUT THE SHAW CENTRE

The Shaw Centre was founded as the Ottawa Congress Centre in 1983. With project funding from the Province of Ontario, the City of Ottawa and the Government of Canada, the Ottawa Congress Centre was redeveloped into a new larger facility, which opened in April 2011 as the Ottawa Convention Centre (OCC). In October 2014, the OCC and Shaw Communications entered into a 10 year naming rights partnership, rebranding the facility as the Shaw Centre. The Shaw Centre is a state-of-the-art convention centre that generates economic impact by hosting conventions, trade shows, meetings, consumer shows and events.  The Shaw Centre was recently named runner-up as the world’s best convention centre by the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC).  Since re-opening its doors in 2011, the Centre has hosted over 3000 events and has added approximately $503M to the Ottawa-Gatineau area and Province of Ontario. The Shaw Centre is governed by a board of directors, managed by an expert team of professionals and operationally driven by inspired colleagues and selected suppliers whose main goal is to create extraordinary events. The Ottawa Convention Centre® Corporation is an agency of the Government of Ontario.