'Keep up the good work...legend,' classy gesture from kickboxing club to Chloe Black
Chloe is an inspiration
"Keep up the good work...legend," Claremorris Kickboxing Club has sent Carlow's Chloe Black a belt with an inspiring message in acknowledgement of all she has done in the face of adversity.
An obscure boxing rule left Chloe devastated when she was not allowed to fight in the National Finals recently.
Chloe had travelled to the National Stadium in Dublin and had completed the weigh-in, only to be told right before her fight that she was disqualified because she also takes part in Muay Thai.
The 12-year-old was not allowed to box on the basis of an Irish Athletic Boxing Association rule which disallows competitors to be involved in any other individual, physical, contact sport.
Chloe's mother took to Facebook recently to highlight what the kickboxing club did in support of Chloe.
She said: "What a lovely surprise in the post for Chloe Black this morning..big thanks to Phelim Halligan and his claremorris kickboxing club the smile that was on her face when she opened it!! #getbehindchloe"
The inscription read: "You are doing everything right, keep up the great work."
A petition to abolish the boxing rule which prevented Chloe from fighting in the Nationals has garnered thousands of signatures already.
Chloe said boxing had really brought out her confidence and after the events at the National Stadium, she said: "I was distraught, I started crying, I couldn't hold it in, I was so angry with the way it was dealt with.
"I could've been told Thursday and I would've been able to get over it.
"But being told a couple of minutes before the fight when I was really confident, it really broke me. I just had to get out of the stadium as quickly as possible, I could not hold it in any longer."