Shetland Gymnastics Club, a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, currently operates at the Clickimin Leisure Centre in Lerwick, a building owned and operated by the Shetland Recreational Trust. The Club operates 3 nights a week regularly with other nights and weekends used at other times for holiday camps and extra practices.
As of March 2022, we have 150 gymnasts training at least once a week (numbers have been limited due to Covid regulations), all registered with Scottish Gymnastics and we have 275 currently on our waiting lists to join.
The Club currently participates and succeeds in Scottish Gymnastics Floor and Vault, Voluntary Levels and Teamgym competitions as well as participating in Gymfest annually as well as International Island Games competitions.
Club Journey
- Shetland Gymnastics Club began as a class of 30 gymnasts coming to class once a week from September 2005 following the highly successful Nat West Island Games in Shetland in 2005. Previous to the Games there was no gymnastics in Shetland apart from PE teachers occasionally taking blocks of classes.
- A group of interested adult and parents undertook a coaching course run by Scottish Gymnastics and applied for funding to purchase gymnastics equipment in order to run classes as there was no equipment available to use on the island. The class was so successful that another was soon added plus a waiting list to join started. The classes were run through the Shetland Recreational Trust at Clickimin Leisure Centre.
- More coaching courses were advertised and more coaches qualified, allowing more young people the chance to participate. By 2010 the club was so big that the leisure centre asked us to take on the running of classes as a separate organisation, therefore, Shetland gymnastics Association was set up. A committee and constitution organised and more classes running with paid coaches. By now gymnasts were entering competitions on the mainland and winning medals as well as entering national display events. Boys and girls from the age of 6+ were attending 1-3 times a week training on floor and vaults as well as building skill levels on bars and beam.
- Shetland Gymnastics Club entered various Scottish Gymnastics Floor and Vault competitions over the next couple of years, winning medals at various age groups and eventually reached the skill level to enter the Inter Island Games Competition in Wales in 2015 (our first 4 piece womens competition). In order to train for such events, our gymnasts had to travel to Dundee and Lasswade in order to find suitable equipment such as a sprung floor and bars over foam pits in order to reach the required skill levels for competing. Having to travel continuously is a great added expense to families, as well as travelling to competitions, and a great hinderance to their progression in the sport.
- Following on from the Island Games 2015 in Ynys Mon, we held our first ever event with clubs from mainland Scotland making the journey north to compete. Our 10th anniversary was a huge success with National gymnast Amy Regan and her National Commonwealth Games coach Sandy Richardson attending and holding workshops for all gymnasts.
- Our coaches have also been increasing their qualification levels and many new younger coaches from the age of 14 getting the opportunity to learn to coach and have a part-time income. They are also great role models for our younger gymnasts who respond well to learning from older peers. It is also another aspect of their CV, learning to work as a team and work on their own initiative when required.
- Currently we have 11 paid coaches who coach between 2.5 hours to 7 hours a week over 3 days and 8 young assistants