Gymnastics club still managing to have fun

GYMNASTICS clubs are the heart and soul of the sport and this has been particularly true during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Raising morale and keeping members active, clubs are performing a huge service to communities like never before.

The doors of Llanelli Gymnastics Club may have been closed for 142 days during the pandemic, but that has not stopped this close-knit community club from training and having fun.

Gymnasts were kept active and motivated with online training sessions, while spirits were lifted with virtual bake-off competitions and virtual trips to the Oscars.

The gymnasts – and coaches – dressed up every week to enjoy time together online as a club.

Once restrictions lifted, the coaches promptly organised conditioning on the beach and carried light equipment to the local park so that the gymnasts could train outdoors.

Llanelli Gymnastics Club, which is based at Calsonic Kansei in Felinfoel, had since been able to reopen thanks to a National Lottery grant from the Sport Wales Be Active Wales Fund, though last weekend’s Welsh Government announcement has changed that for the foreseeable future.

Before that announcement, club coach Debra Cavill said: “From the bottom of my heart, I want to say a big thank you to every single National Lottery player.

“The funding has been a godsend and has allowed our gymnasts to come back to the gym and train safely.

“We come from a small town but we are one big family. We are just so grateful that we have been able to get through this time and welcome our gymnasts back.

“Our gym was closed for 142 days but our club was very much still up and running. We didn’t lose contact with a single gymnast during that time.”

The club received almost £2,500 in National Lottery funding, which has been spent on hand sanitisers, signage and Covid-trained cleaners who perform deep cleans of the gym.

Llanelli Gymnastics Club has also received a further 14 National Lottery grants to help them keep local children active.

With the help of National Lottery funding, thousands of grassroots sports workers and volunteers from local clubs and organisations across the UK have been able to continue to help the nation to remain active during the Covid-19 pandemic.