A Caldicot gymnastics club have been recognised for their work to ensure everyone can take part in the sport with a prestigious nomination for a national award.

Wye Gymnastics Club have been shortlisted for the British Gymnastics Inclusion Impact Award thanks to their tireless commitment to make the sport accessible for everyone, regardless of ability or background.

The club run a wide range of programmes, including the British Gymnastics Foundation’s ‘Love to Move’ programme that works with people with dementia, as well as sessions for lower-income children during the school holidays.

It has put the club at the centre of the community in Caldicot, and CEO Carly Hawke, 43, admitted it was hard to keep the nomination a secret at first.

“We found out from an email from British Gymnastics, who advised us we had been shortlisted and they asked us to keep it quiet for a couple of days before they launched it on social media,” she said.

“When something like this happens, you want to shout it from the rooftops as we are obviously so incredibly proud. It was a nice secret to keep but very nice to let it out of the bag when they announced it.

“We want to use sport as a vehicle for social change and that is what we are really striving to focus on at the moment. We have got a lovely community of people within gymnastics, and it is now using that to impact as many people as we would like to.

“We have introduced the British Gymnastics Foundation ‘Love to Move’ programme, which is a dementia-friendly seated gymnastics programme. 

“We have delivered over 250 sessions across 10 venues, impacting 150 people over the age of 65. That has been wonderful, the programme is fantastic, and we are seeing a huge impact in that community.

“We also run a club for girls in the black, Asian, and ethnic minority community. They don’t have access to many sporting activities outside of school so that has been a lovely programme to introduce. 

“And we piloted at the end of last year a Fit and Fed programme, where we are delivering gymnastics activity and a free hot meal to children who need it during school holidays. 

“These are children who wouldn’t have the funds available to do extra-curricular activities during the school holidays, and we found lower-income families really struggle with food poverty throughout the holidays. 

“We really wanted to impact that and help families who are struggling with the additional expense during that time. We have had 300 participants on that programme.”

The British Gymnastics Awards are community led and about championing those who make the sport an uplifting experience for all, with more nominations than ever before coming in this year.

It is the creativity, dedication and passion from people in the sport that make gymnastics an accessible, inclusive and enjoyable sport for all.

The nominations have been judged by panels made up of British Gymnastics committee members and external panellists from across UK Sport, Gymnova, Milano, Gymaid, Youth Sport Trust, Sport England, Women in Sport, The Include Summit, Sport and Recreation Alliance, The Sport for Development Coalition and GB gymnasts.

Wye Gymnastics Club’s work in care homes with people with dementia has been a particular success, with the impact on residents tangible.

“With the Love to Move programme, it is specifically designed to get people moving and functioning better,” added Hawke. 

“It integrates the use of gymnastics skills and is based on asymmetrical movement patterns to use both sides of the brain. By enabling the left and right side of the brain to process information it improves cognitive function and coordination. 

“We are noticing residents in the care home are recognising things more. They have noticed a huge impact on residents. 

“There is one gentleman who sleeps all day, but one song comes on and his foot starts tapping, and he joins in for one song.”

The British Gymnastics Awards celebrate those at the heart of gymnastics who create an uplifting experience for all. British Gymnastics has launched a new vision for a new era of gymnastics, learn more about Leap Without Limits here - https://www.british-gymnastics.org/vision