Torbay Olympic Gymnastic Club

Torbay Olympic Gymnastic Club was established in 1982 and now has more than 700 members, with others queuing up to join. There was a lot of interest from parents in setting up sessions for babies. The personal qualities gymnastics gives children, including increases in academic achievement, concentration, self control and self esteem, are well documented and everyone was keen to capture children's interest early on.

The Club successfully applied to the Local Network Fund for a grant of £5,100. Part of their grant was used to buy equipment specifically for the use of babies, whilst the remainder was used to train more volunteer coaches and to subsidise the cost of membership for children from low income families.

The newly introduced Fun 4 Baby sessions have helped parents and children to bond whilst engaging in a fun activity. Children as young as 8 weeks old have attended and have thoroughly enjoyed themselves as they learned about each other and explored possibilities. The confidence built up in these very early days is built on as the children progress through the Club and engage in more advanced activities.

The grant helped to facilitate this progress by also covering the cost of staff and volunteer training, which included sessions on Child Protection and First Aid as well as courses on the differennt gymnastic disciplines and also enabled up to 50 children totake part in the sport who wouldn't have been able to afford to do so otherwise.

One unexpected benefit of the Foundation's grant was that improved contacts were made with Sure Sart in both Torquay and Paignton.

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