Awards | Elevate Acro further bolster their trophy cabinet
Less than two weeks on from their maiden win at the Scottish Gymnastics Awards, Elevate Acro have earned yet another national honour.
The West Lothian-based club were only established in January after a fire at their old club, Astro Gymnastics Club, which forced it to close. 10 months on, Elevate have firmly established themselves in the gymnastics community, and they now have multiple accolades to their name.
Elevate won the Community Champion of the Year award at the Scottish Women in Sport Awards 2025 on Friday. Bronwen Smyth, the club’s chairperson, was able to celebrate the gym’s success alongside a number of her colleagues. She said she can’t quite believe the progress that the whole team has made this year.
On the club’s latest award, she said: “It’s truly amazing given that we only set the club up at the start of the year. And tonight, to be surrounded by so many talented athletes, para-athletes, so many inspirational women and allies – it’s really incredible.
“We set up the club in January, and then we ran our first classes in March. So it has been a huge effort from our team of coaches, our charity trustees, our parents and supporters, but importantly our gymnasts as well. It’s really the community and everyone pulling together that has helped us to get this award tonight.”
Elevate’s success at the Scottish Gymnastics Awards 2025 started their impressive trophy-winning run this month. “We were a little bit starstruck to be honest,” Smyth stated on her club’s success in the Spirit of Gymnastics category.
“We just do what we do because we love the sport. We just wanted to keep more young people – more young females – in the sport, especially for teenage girls who are at an age where many of them give up the sport. Just to give back to them, the opportunities that we’ve had over the years as well.
“The coaching team, they just want children to come through the sport, enjoy what they do and just do their best.”
A permanent home is on the Smyth’s wish list for next year. Elevate currently operate in six different locations but don’t have a place to call their own. She is also looking to develop the club’s coaching academy in 2026.
Image provided by Scottish Women in Sport, by photographer Stewart Robertson.