Private Kimberley Keeps Boxing!

BDF Media Release| 18 September 20

Photography and Story credit: Featured Fridays BDF Media Team

Private Kimberley Gittens after graduating from the Coleridge and Parry School, enlisted in the Barbados Defence Force Sports Program (BDFSP) in February 2011, where she spent seven (7) years representing the BDFSP and Barbados in the discipline of Boxing. Patriotism and continued personal development led her to enlist in the Barbados Defence Force Full-time element in 2018, becoming a proud member of Recruit Intake 1/18.

Gittens is no stranger to the local and regional boxing-rings as she has now become jet-lagged with success having received numerous medals at such events. In the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, Gittens successfully held on to receive a bronze during her light welterweight fight against Mirquin Sena of the Dominican Republic. In 2019 Gittens successfully represented Barbados and the International Military Council Games (CISM) in China, where she represented Barbados Defence Force with pride.

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Now a full-timer in the BDF, Kimberley admits that her duty to the Force and country sometimes conflicts with her boxing training, but she is proud to state that to date, there has been a manageable balance and the BDF, in its strategic mandate to sport and youth development has installed measures to assist with her sporting endeavours. In mentioning her heartfelt thanks to the BDF for its sporting vision, Gittens admitted in a candid interview that she does not regret first enlisting with the BDFSP, due it being parallel with the discipline and values of the BDF. While she was unable to transfer her years of service in the BDFSP to the BDF, she confidently stated that she is yet comforted knowing that she still has the opportunity to attend and train for boxing engagements, while being a servicewoman.  

In her own words Kimberley states that “boxing is very strenuous and time-consuming, you can’t take it lightly and if you don’t have a passion for it I would not advise you to join it”.

Private Gittens still has her sights her sights set on representing Barbados at the Olympics Games scheduled for July 2021. Her vision is to advance into general coaching or maybe technical coaching.

DID YOU KNOW?  

Kimberly is a lover of dogs and has four and she also collects water bottles whenever she travels.