Gymnasts Can Return To Competition

Thursday, 5 October 2023 08:17

Jersey Special Gymnastics Club has got the funding to be able to return to competition.

Mortgage lender Skipton has stepped in with a three year sponsorship deal.

The club, which trains people with learning difficulties, has faced a very uncertain time since being forced to leave its base at Greenfields last summer.

It was homeless for a time, before getting a temporary home at Fort Regent.

However, no funding meant it had to cut all national and international competitions, disappointing its talented young gymnasts.

Now Skipton has stepped in to offer not only the cash to compete, but to buy new equipment too.

Lorraine McLean, Mortgage Centre Manager, says her team is also committed to volunteering roles in the club.

“How could we not step in and help the club when it means so much to so many. The joy that the club members get from their gymnastics, the camaraderie at competitions and the benefits of the regular sport itself are all crucial."

Coach Nikki Kirkland says the funding means the club has been able to schedule its first competition since the Covid pandemic, with four judges from the UK coming over in December.

"We have been able to purchase new merchandise and training equipment, and now can participate in competitions again.

It is all very exciting after such an uncertain time"