Queanbeyan father and daughter team up against muscular dystrophy

By Steph Konatar
July 31 2015 - 12:00am
Ella Oakley and her dad Rob training for the Fight Night Experience at Gym Victus. Photo: Steph Konatar.
Ella Oakley and her dad Rob training for the Fight Night Experience at Gym Victus. Photo: Steph Konatar.

QUEANBEYAN woman, Ella Oakley has always tried to help Rob, her dad, to raise funds and awareness for muscular dystrophy, a condition that has affected him since his early 20s. She has always felt as if she could never do enough to help, but now she's literally stepping into the ring to fight against the disease.

Ella is one of 20 competitors under the bright lights and in front of around 400 people who will participate in the inaugural sold out Fight Night Experience on Saturday, August 1, at the Canberra Rex Hotel.

Queanbeyan-based Gym Victus established the Fight Night Experience to give everyday people the chance to participate in a 12-week training program based on the benefits of a healthy diet, wellbeing and training which culminates in an amatuer boxing tournament on Saturday. But the main goal of the night is to raise awareness of muscular dystrophy, a fatal condition in severe cases.

Rob joked Ella's the "most fierce butterfly you've ever seen" and her friends were amused at the thought of Ella fighting against someone, but she said she was excited to start the 12-week program when she heard of it.

"I'm doing this mostly because of my dad, before I'd been more on the sideline for fundraisers. I wasn't sure my friends would be able to donate very much, so I thought I'd enter into a fight instead," she said.

"But it's also for fitness and trying something new. I'd had two boxing classes before this, so I hadn't really thought about it. I play basketball, but boxing requires completely different training and a higher level of fitness- some people have lost up to 15 kilograms during the 12 weeks.

"It's a good feeling when you're at the peak of your fitness- now I actually find myself always standing like this (in the boxing stance)."

The 21-year-old will face an experienced fighter named Zelda. Ella said she is "nervous and excited" to fight and when asked if she feels she had prepared enough joked, "I hope so".

All proceeds from the night go to Capital Region Muscular Dystrophy (CRMD), who work to support people in the Canberra/Queanbeyan region with the condition. CRMD was founded by Rob and was the brainchild of a teenage Ella.

"Ella was in year 10 and came home and said 'I have to do a fundraiser for Business Studies, I want to have a dinner to raise money for muscular dystrophy'- in a sense she started it all," Rob said.

Canberra's Telstra Tower will be illuminated red on Saturday to highlight the ultimate goal of the evening: to raise awareness of muscular dystrophy.

"We're trying to make it like a Muscle Up for Muscular Dystrophy day," Rob said.

"Muscular dystrophy is a muscle wasting disorder where mobility is compromised, mine is a late onset, so it's not as bad as some some, but I can't run and simple tasks like walking up stairs, bending over and getting out of a chair are difficult."

The former paralympian trains at Gym Victus to help maintain the degenerative process of his condition and was approached by Gavin Stone, owner of Gym Victus about establishing the Fight Night Experience.

"The link between muscular dystrophy and hard training in a gym might not be obvious at first; however elementary and specifically targeted exercises- as well as diet- can be central to maintaining mobility and independence," Gavin said.

"Even more significantly the analogical challenge of stepping into the ring for an everyday person is that to the challenges faced when you have a neuromuscular condition like muscular dystrophy."

The Fight Night will also feature Canberra's 104.7 breakfast show host Nige stepping into the ring to fight Mike Houston from Canberra Motor Cycle Centre, an auction of sporting memorabilia and other goods, exhibition bouts and demonstrations of martial arts.

The event is not only sold out this year, but Rob said there is already a waiting list for next year.

"We're hoping to raise $20-25,000 on the night, which will go towards purchasing important equipment to help those with muscular dystrophy to survive and help to fund school holiday camps," he said.

"But it's more about the awareness of muscular dystrophy, it can be an all-encompassing disease and people that experience it don't have the chance to speak out."

Currently there are no specfic services in Canberra for the condition- Rob said CRMD and the University of Canberra are developing exercise classes and other related services for people with neuromuscular conditions.

"[Canberra] has come a long way, but we've still got a long way to go," he said.

If you are interested in the classes or are experiencing any difficulty as a result of a neuromuscular condition, you can contact CRMD through their website capitalregionmd.org.au or find them on Facebook.

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