History of South Essex

Gymnastics Club

Overview

In the early 1990s South Essex Gymnastics club was formed when the Basildon, Castle Point and Magna Carta Gymnastics Clubs amalgamated.  The newly formed South Essex Gymnastics Club forged strong links with Basildon District Council and worked together to locate an appropriate site for the permanent home of the Club. After negotiation with the Council the Club was granted a long lease on the Cranes Farm Road site which enabled successful applications for lottery and other external funding.

The current premises were constructed in 1992 at a cost of some £300k. This was made possible through a huge fund raising effort over many years plus loans and grants - mainly from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and the  Sports Council.

In 1993 a full time Manager was employed which enabled an expansion of the gymnastics programme. There then followed a prolonged period of success which resulted in an expansion of all aspects of gymnastic activity and ultimately a substantial increase in demand for places. In time it became apparent  that the only way to satisfy this demand was  to extend the facility. Plans for a major extension were drawn up and outline planning permission was granted by BDC.

Recently these plans have been put on hold as we have been in discussion with BDC about the possibility of the club moving into the proposed Sporting Village on the Gloucester Park site - watch this space for further developments.

Gymnastic Opportunities

South Essex Gymnastics Club provides opportunities for participation in: Men’s Artistic,  Women’s Artistic, Rhythmic, Special Needs (currently suspended), Parents and Toddlers, Pre-School, Adult and Recreational Gymnastics.

Since its beginning SEGC has been one of the foremost Clubs in the country. The Club’s long term excellence was recognised by British Gymnastics in 2001 when it was awarded High Performance Centre (HPC) status for Women’s Artistic gymnastics as part of the Sport England's World Class Programme. National Squad gymnasts from all over the South of England regularly attended sessions at the Centre under the direction of  Vladimir Yanev who was appointed HPC National Coach based at the South Essex. In 2004 the funding programme was changed and the HPC structure was disbanded. South Essex is a British Gymnastics High Performance Centre.

Since the formation of the World Class programme South Essex gymnasts have been part of the  squads set up (Start, Potential and Performance). In addition Club members have represented Great Britain in Rhythmic, Men’s and Women’s Artistic National Teams. Coaches and Judges from the Club have participated in many International events. For details of successes see TIME LINE OF MAIN GYMNASTIC ACHIEVEMENTS.

Membership

Our membership is drawn mostly from the Basildon District with others attending from Southend, Chelmsford, Harlow, Redbridge, London, Thurrock and  the surrounding areas. 

Membership fees are charged for all classes, which range from one hour per week to five sessions per week (although some gymnasts train six days per week).

Present membership is over 600 with an extensive waiting list.

Our members are affiliated to British Gymnastics and Eastern Counties Gymnastics.

Employment

The Club is a registered charity (No 297362) and is managed by a Board of Trustees. Currently six full-time and around 30 part time coaches are employed to facilitate the activities on offer.

All coaches at the Club receive appropriate training and follow the British Gymnastics coaching accreditation programme. Our coaches are qualified at levels from Assistant coach through to International Performance and FIG International Brevet. We have judges qualified at Club level through to FIG International Brevet.

Community Links

The Club has long been involved with the Council in developing the opportunities available to those interested in the sport. The club has been a member of the Basildon Sports Club Forum and has been a regular contributor to Council consultation exercises with regard to sports development.

The Club has also worked with Special Needs schools in the locality to provide access to gymnastic opportunities for their pupils. To fully support this partnership, coaching staff have undergone specialist training in Gymnastic and Movement for People with Disabilities (GMPD). Until recently eight classes were being run on a weekly basis during term time. The partnership was heavily subsidised by the Club and received occasional help from funding agencies such as Awards For All and the President's Sporting Club. Although it has been necessary to suspend this activity but it remains an important part of our philosophy of gymnastic provision. It is our stated intention to recommence these sessions at the earliest opportunity.

The Club has close links with local Sports Colleges and the primary schools in their partnerships - this includes training of staff and talent identification.

Quality Provision.

The club has worked with its governing body (British Gymnastics) to attain GymMark accreditation. GymMark is British Gymnastic's stamp of quality assurance. The GymMark scheme was developed by British Gymnastics, in partnership with Sport England to provide recognition for clubs that are committed to providing quality experiences. The club recognises that it must not only sustain its high standards but also develop the range and quality of its provision.

As part of its continual development the Club recognises its responsibilities to users, to provide a safe and suitable environment. The Club achieves this, by ensuring that all relevant child protection and health and safety issues are fully addressed.

The club has worked hard to ensure that it is user friendly and has identified and implemented necessary changes to comply with the Disabilities Discrimination Act (DDA).

TIME LINE OF MAIN GYMNASTIC ACHIEVEMENTS

HOMEPAGE