The Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) has appointed Knight, Kavanagh & Page (KKP) to conduct market research into the opinions and experiences of people involved in the sport.

As part of the exercise, the location of clubs and their members is being mapped and compared to data on population characteristics across all parts of England. This is designed to test how the stereotype of boxing being the UK's strongest performing national governing body in reaching people living in areas of deprivation measures up to the reality of the sport.

This will be supplemented by a survey of people directly and indirectly involved in the sport. A combination of questionnaires and inter-personal interviews will elicit the views and opinions of young people, parents, teachers, police officers, youth workers, local authority staff, academics and well known public names testing the proposition that boxing ‘reaches parts of the community that few other sports or interventions do'.

The study will unpeel some of the emotion that invariably becomes associated with boxing to demonstrate how its clubs and schemes are valued by those with first hand experience. The ABAE will use the findings to help shape its strategic plan for the future of the sport, to address negative perceptions and to tackle problems identified from within.

Peter Millward, who is leading the project, managed the 2004 survey of sports participation in England's Northwest and the 2007 update. Combined, these gathered data on the behaviour and views of more than 90,000 young people.

KKP is the leading company in market research in the sports sector. As well as an extensive track record conducting such opinion-based research, we have unparalleled expertise in the intelligent use of data to inform policy, monitor change and evaluate success. We provide an inclusive service that offers substantially more than standard products and fieldwork.

For further details, please contact Peter Millward, Principal Consultant, Email: peter.millward@kkp.co.uk