Hardship grant | Its amazing impact on a Scottish family
Applications for the next round of British Gymnastics Foundation’s hardship grants opens from 9am on Monday 25 May until midnight on Sunday 7 June. These grants provide financial assistance to allow people to continue participating in gymnastics who otherwise may struggle to do so.
For this round, and beyond, Scottish Gymnastics is providing 50% of the funding for the grants, following a £10,000 donation to the programme in 2025. British Gymnastics Foundation is providing the other half of the funding.
The impact of the hardship grants
One of the recipients from the last round, who asked to remain anonymous, was a member of the Scottish Gymnastics community. She has an incurable form of cancer that she has battled for years, and it has left her unable to work. Her 13-year-old daughter does recreational gymnastics, but money is tight for extra-curricular activities.
They heard about the hardship grant through a family member and decided to put themselves forward for it. The mum said: “I thought it was a great opportunity to get some help. I said in my application that even if we weren’t successful, my daughter would still be going to gymnastics, but something else would have to give.”
Her mum’s health means that the 13-year-old has a lot of extra work to do at home, on top of going to school and the volunteer coaching she does at her club. “When my mum was in hospital, I would wake up to walk the dogs and make sure that they’re all fed. I’d make sure that my brother is out the door on time and make sure that I’m ready for school as well.”
Her mum certainly thinks she downplays the amount she does at her age. “She is my registered carer. She’s basically like mini-me. So when I’m out of action, she just steps up and she’s mum. And she’s been doing that for years and she’s only 13.”
‘Gymnastics is my release’
The daughter loves the sport. It’s her way of escaping from the pressures of normal life. On getting the extra money from the hardship grants, she said: “It means a lot because, obviously since I’m doing a lot at home, it just means I can let off all my stress from school. School can be really hard, and then I come home and I’m helping out. It can be a lot sometimes. So it’s like a release and it’s a really good way to let off energy.”
Receiving that bit of extra funding to help her daughter continue doing gymnastics has been such a help for the whole family. “We would never ever stop taking her to gymnastics,” said the mum. “But the hardship grant made it so much easier for us.
“I didn’t know it was a possibility before, and I haven’t been in a position to do paperwork. I have to get help with that because I can’t feel my hands very well. So it was just really fortuitous and we’re very grateful to have the chance to get that funding.
“Her brother goes to the gym at the same location [as their club] three or four times a week. So on the days that she’s at gymnastics, he’s at the gym, and I’m there and I can pick him up and take him home. But obviously, just on a very basic level, had we not had the funding, maybe he wouldn’t have the opportunity to go to the gym as much. Or we wouldn’t have had the money to do other things.
“To be honest with you, gymnastics is probably the only activity that she has that’s paid for. A lot of kids get karate, piano, you know? We can’t afford that. So it was a case of what do you want to do? And this is what she wants to do and she’s thrown herself fully at it.”