Changing Lives | Funding Boost For Ayrshire’s Summer Camp
Scottish Gymnastics, with the support of the Witherby Publishing Group have provided funding to help clubs to power the difference they make through gymnastics projects in their communities.
Ayrshire Gymnastics applied for funding through the Changing Lives Fund earlier this year and from it were able to provide over 40 hours of free gymnastics at their summer camp held across July and August.
Grants of £250 to £2,500 were made available to passionate clubs who identified a need for their community and designed and delivered a gymnastics project to address that need. By demonstrating an understand of the needs of their communities and putting participation at the heart, Ayrshire were successful in their application.
Ayrshire Gymnastics is located in an area that is identified by the Scottish Government as having a higher level of deprivation, where there is a real requirement for financial support to break down the barriers to accessing gymnastics and other sport activities for young people, particularly during school holidays. The main reason for the camp is to encourage children to be active in a fun, safe and positive environment.
Working closely with the local authority, and neighbouring association Centre Stage, Ayrshire Gymnastics were able to advertise and then offer 40 fully subsidised places at the camp to encourage children who have never taken part in gymnastics to come along. The funding also allowed discounted rates on other places across the 4 week camp.
Ayrshire Gymnastics saw the opportunity to encourage young people from the community to give gymnastics a try, and hopefully encourage more to stay involved in the sport after attending. The summer camp encourages community health improvement and enables children of all ages and social backgrounds to achieve goals and learn new skills. The camp gives children an uplifitng experience focusing on recreational gymnastics, basic acrobatic and general activities such as arts and crafts. By creating a positive and uplifting gymnastics experience for everyone involved, they hope to support gymnasts through sport in a safe and nurturing environment.
Gemma Thomson, alongside Tracy Wilson, head coaches of the club said: “As we are both teachers, we are aware of what the community needs within East Ayrshire where there are a lot of areas of mass deprivation. We tried to tap in and help families within these communities to see if we could get them on board by looking into the local and Scottish Government initiatives. All in all, we feel the camp has been a great experience and a great success.”
Five clubs were awarded funding in this round of applications showing examples of how the grants have been applied to projects. Similar funding is availabe to support the development of club satellites, with Scottish Gymnastics currently accepting applications until Monday 2 October 2023.
You can find out more about our support for clubs by contacting our development team on development@scottishgymnastics.org