Update | Bell’s Sports Centre
9 July 2024
As a membership organisation, we are fully committed to our vision of providing an uplifting gymnastics experience for all in everything we do. The programmes, resources and support we offer as member benefits are to meet the needs of the community and the sport in Scotland.
We are, however, going through a transitional phase with regards our events programme. We are aware that the experience we have provided on some occasions has fallen short.
Bell’s Sports Centre in Perth, home to four disciplines’ events programmes, suffered catastrophic flooding on 8 October 2023. Bell’s hosted 35 days of competition each year and housed a significant amount and value of equipment. Our focus was on finding solutions to make sure we could run an events programme for the rest of the membership year.
Whilst we had no option but to cancel a small number of competitions, most of our events were completed. We are grateful for the support of our technical committees, judges, clubs, coaches, gymnasts, parents, volunteers, and our equipment and venue partners. The flooding affected the programme throughout the year and the time normally fully spent on organising each event.
We acknowledge that this has resulted in our communication and level of service falling below what we would expect. We know this has impacted on all disciplines, not just those directly affected by the flooding. For this, we are very sorry.
In April 2023, we commissioned a review of our events programme using an independent expert with significant gymnastics experience. This process included attending some of our events and meeting staff, technical committees and others within our community.
Our review was completed in the summer with recommendations in six key areas:
- frequency, timing & number of events,
- venues,
- equipment,
- scoring & results,
- volunteers,
- clarity of roles, capacity & communication.
We had intended to work with our technical committees for each discipline and begin the process of implementing the recommendations in September 2023. However, the disruption caused by the flooding the following month delayed our progress.
We are now focused on delivering on the recommendations and are currently transitioning through a period of change. With the support of our technical committees, we are introducing a new structure for event delivery including staff, contractors and technical committees.
We are confident that these changes will result in an uplifting experience for everyone involved in our events programme. We thank you for your patience and continued support.
Further to our update last week about the challenges around the national artistic championships, we can now confirm arrangements.
The flooding at Bell’s Sports Centre in Perth meant we had to find an alternative date and venue. Due to circumstances out with our control, we now need to bring this event forward to another date.
The Scottish National Artistic Gymnastics Championships will be held on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 February at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Centre, Motherwell. This is one week earlier than the original event.
We have not taken this action lightly: it is essential because we need technical support from our partners before and during the event. We have gone through all possible options to avoid this change.
We are sorry about the further disruption this may cause members, in particular gymnasts’ training preparations. We would ask for your patience and your cooperation with the entries process which we now need to close at 10am on Friday 15 December. This is to allow events team to create the schedule, confirm judges and volunteers as quickly as they can before putting spectator tickets on sale.
The TeamGym Scottish Open due to be held at Ravenscraig the same weekend is still going ahead. We are holding this event in the athletics hall which gives us the required space for both competitions.
Member clubs should also note that we are moving the annual general meeting. This will now be held one week later on Sunday 25 February. We will share details in due course.
Scottish National Artistic Gymnastics Championships
Further to our announcement about events affected by flooding at Bell’s Sports Centre in Perth and the email sent by our events team.
We worked with our partners to identify an alternative venue and date for the Scottish National Artistic Gymnastics Championships. We were confident arrangements were in place for 2 & 3 March at Ravenscraig which meant we opened competition entries on 17 November.
However, we have since found out that one of our partners essential in running the event may not be able to send a representative. We are in discussions internally and with our partners about whether the event will go ahead that weekend as planned, or if we need to move it to another date.
We have therefore no option but to temporarily close entries to the artistic championships. We will let you know as soon as we can confirm the dates for the championships and re-open entries.
We are sorry that this will cause gymnasts, families, coaches and volunteers further upheaval. We appreciate that many competitors live a distance away and need to book accommodation and/or travel. And, that gymnasts are working to specific training plans. We aim to resolve this situation as soon as possible.
Bell’s Sports Centre was significantly affected by the flood waters in Perth on 7 and 8 October. The ground floor was impacted, including the main arena where we hold events. Our equipment was also affected.
Our priority has been trying to reschedule the four events due to be held there before the end of the year. This has not been straightforward as we work to find available venues and alternative equipment and apparatus which then needs to be transported. This has resulted in some short notice changes however we hope that the community understands the challenges this situation has caused. All while continuing with the wider events and competitions programme.
We have been able to reorganise four events and are grateful to Dynamic, Meadowbank and City of Glasgow gymnastics clubs for their support. Edinburgh Leisure has been able to accommodate us for this Sunday’s record-entry floor and vault. Unfortunately, we had to reduce the number of competitors in one event and have been unable to accommodate the Gordon Forster Team Challenge. We hope you understand we have done all we could to find an alternative venue.
The calendar will continue to be affected in 2024 as it is likely the main arena and surrounding areas within Bell’s will remain closed for some time. We appreciate that this causes upheaval for gymnasts, families and clubs, as you may have booked accommodation or travel ahead of competitions. We will continue to re-arrange events and let you know about changes as soon as possible. Many have already been updated on our website and we are working to finalise others as soon as possible.
We ask for your patience as the team works hard to reschedule competitions, this may result in some changes such as restricted ticket sales. This is because there may not be the same capacity or seating if events are hosted in clubs or smaller facilities. Full information will be provided on the events calendar and the shop.
Our thanks go to the technical committees, judges, clubs, coaches, volunteers and gymnasts who have assisted with and supported these short notice changes.
Equipment
We have been assessing the damage with our equipment partners and suppliers. This is ongoing to confirm what items can be cleaned safely and saved, however it is clear there has been significant loss.
Whilst we have comprehensive insurance for all our equipment and activities, there is a specific exclusion for flooding at Bell’s Sports Centre as insurance companies deem it high risk. The sports centre itself is in a similar position, with typical insurance arrangements for flooding not being available to the Operator since a previous flood event in 2020. This is mitigated by the Perth Flood Defence Scheme however several flood gates on the North Inch remained open during the flooding period
Perth and Kinross Council has published a review of extreme weather events in the region in October 2023 with a specific focus on the late closure of gates on the North Inch, Perth. The report states that Perth and Kinross Council “acknowledges that the delayed closure of these may have contributed to the flooding of some properties”.
Next steps
We are working to identify how we can clean or replace equipment as soon as we can however there is a significant financial impact. There are also additional costs being incurred with relocating the events programme to new venues as well as sourcing and transporting equipment. We are therefore looking at all options available to us and are of course liaising with Perth and Kinross Council as well as sportscotland.
We are continuing to work for our members and in their best interests to deliver our programme of events to the best of our ability with the challenges we face. This is an incredibly difficult time for us all and we ask you to bear this in mind when speaking to staff and volunteers. We will remain transparent throughout and continue to update you when we can. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Doc McKelvey
Chief Executive
Due to severe weather earlier this month, Bell’s Sports Centre experienced significant flooding and is closed. Live Active Leisure is in the process of assessing the impact of the flooding.
The floodwater also had an impact on our equipment, and we are working with partners to assess the full extent of the damage.
This affects the women’s artistic Tin, Bronze, Silver & Gold Classic Challenge on 28 and 29 October. We are trying to find an alternative venue to allow this to take place elsewhere. Our events team will contact the clubs affected directly.
We are also working on contingency plans for other upcoming events due to be held in Perth should Bell’s remain closed. We will update you when we can. Thank you for your patience.