At 63, Local Woman Looking to Pack a Punch For Charity

Ginny Armstrong hits like a girl, and she’s proud of it. That's because this 63-year old retiree is in the middle of training for the 2012 Long Island Fight for Charity, a boxing tournament being held at the Huntington Hilton on March 5.

Taking the nickname "A-Team," Armstrong–a Port Jefferson resident and retired English teacher–is currently the general manager at a company that designs presentations for businesses. A novice to boxing, she says that she’s committed to raising the $5,000 she had to pledge to join the charity fight through her appropriately named website, boxlikeagirl.com.

“The boxers, most of whom are new at the sport, must train with a registered trainer to prep for their fights,” said Armstrong.

As of now, there is no matchup for someone in her age group but Armstrong said the promoters promised her that they will find her a fair fight, so she’s training hard.

“The boxing workout is incredibly intense,” she said.

She’s currently training at Body Shot Boxing in St. James with Eric Davidson, a successful professional boxer.

She joins other Long Island businessmen and women with nicknames like Lisa "Platinum Star" Cassar from Hewlett Jewelers, Dr. Jay "The Kosher Cowboy" Rothstein from R&R Family Chiropractic, Jeff "The Ice Man" Tempone from East Coast Refrigeration and Dr. Deepak "The Ball Buster" Kapoor from Advanced Urology Centers of New York.

According to Armstrong, the Long Island Fight for Charity, now in its ninth year, provides all the training, equipment, and USA Boxing forms. The event was formed by Jamie Austin, Jeff Cohen, and Matt Silver to benefit the Long Island Community Chest, the National Foundation for Human Potential and the Genesis School.

More than 1,000 people gather together to support the boxers and more than $700,000 has been distributed to charities since the event began, according to a statement released by the event promoters.

Why did Armstrong choose to take up boxing?

“I have been very involved in two passions: fitness and charity work,” she said. “I have always been a ‘gym rat,’ but in addition to cardio classes, yoga, weight training and stretching I have sought out great adventures.”

Armstrong listed her adventures in her bio. She’s been a snowboarder, ice climber, cattle driver, mountain climber and at one time she rounded up wild horses and cattle in the Midwest. She said that each adventure she undertakes poses a different challenge. Climbing Kilimanjaro took a week and when she stopped breathing at the top her African guide revived her. She had altitude sickness hiking the Rocky Mountains and the horse and cattle round-ups were a different experience altogether.

“I had to really challenge myself to chase the horses that broke away from the others and ran up and down wilderness areas-over hurdles, through streams, at a gallop pace,” she said. “The cattle drive, by contrast was leisurely; they don't stampede like the horses.”

Despite all of her adventures, boxing is the first contact sport she’s been involved in.

“I've had to learn not to wince or close my eyes when a fist comes my way,” she said. “This sport is also different in that, for the first time, I feel like I am an outsider by virtue of my gender and age.”

Getting hit by this girl is definitely going to hurt. Even though age is a factor in her training, it not something she considers a handicap and she hopes that the charity fight will break through some misconceptions about gender, aging and fitness.

“As of yet there are few if any female boxers my age in the area, making a match-up difficult,” she said. “Since we must abide by the rules of USA Amateur Boxing, matches are paired using a formula of comparable weight and age. My sparing partners thus far have been young and not-so-young men, and I feel my handicap is more lack of experience than age or gender.”

In the end, boxing is both empowering and humbling to Armstrong.

“Boxing is a metaphor for life," she said. “You test yourself every time you enter the ring. Some days you feel invincible; other days you are humbled. Whatever happens, you know you have trained for the fight to the best of your ability, fought honestly, and accepted the results."

If you’re interested in helping Armstrong achieve her goal of raising $5,000 in sponsorship packages and journal ads then head over to boxlikeagirl.com.