Volunteers’ Week | Melanie Trejo
With close to a lifetime in the sport, Irvine Bay Gymnastics Club gymnast Melanie Trejo is well equipped to act as a voice for young gymnasts in Scotland. Volunteering in the Scottish Gymnastics Youth Forum allows her to do exactly this.
The youth forum represents the younger Scottish Gymnastics. The forum members meet with Scottish Gymnastics staff and stakeholders to give their views on specific topics such as the gymnastics pathways, participation, competitions and performance.
Aspirational
Melanie’s coach Jack Gibson inspired her to get join the forum.
“Jack was part of the Youth Forum, and he would tell us about how much he enjoyed his experience and how he managed to learn a lot. This made me want to apply as I wanted to experience it too.”
“I started gymnastics in Irvine with the general classes in the Magnum Irvine when I was three. From there I got moved up into the team for Irvine Newtown and did artistic gymnastics. After a few years I moved into TeamGym. After a while I joined DGC and did a mix of artistic and TeamGym. I stayed there for a while before moving to Irvine Bay Gymnastics Club to do TeamGym.
“My favourite aspect of being a gymnast is that I get to experience different ways on how to move on and get better. This has taught me that hard work and dedication gets me through life.”
Inspirational
Alongside being a gymnast, Melanie volunteered as coach at Irvine Bay as part of her Duke of Edinburgh’s award. Discussing why people should take the time to volunteer, Melanie said:
“It’s important for people to volunteer as they get the opportunity to see what the different options are, and to explore the different types of careers it can lead to in the future.
“My advice to anyone who is considering becoming a volunteer in gymnastics is to be confident. It’s such a nice sport and you’re lucky to have the opportunity to see what it’s like. Plus, if it’s a new thing for you how will you know if you like it or not if you never try?”
This insightful mindset shone through in Melanie’s Youth Forum application. The gymnast expressed the importance of focusing on the mental health of young people in sport.
“Mental health is very important on how you perform. If you have bad mental health, you may put too much pressure on yourself for your performance and this can also lead to other issues.
Supportive
As a TeamGym gymnast, Melanie understands just how important teamwork is. The discipline requires gymnasts to work effectively together to score well. This understanding spills over into other avenues of life, such as Melanie’s thoughts on the most important traits for members of the youth forum.
“People who are in the Youth Forum need to be organised, responsible and be able to work together as a team because we have to be able to work together to make a project work.”
If Melanie’s story has inspired you, you can find information on how to get involved in volunteering below. You can also find great resources on the volunteers’ week website.