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Parent Power Strikes Again
To Support Young People And Their Dream
STAFF and gymnasts are
celebrating after the announcement that the future of the Southport and Ainsdale
Gymnastics Club has been secured. A charity set up by the Club’s Parents Support
Group will take over as new owners, from Southport YMCA, in September 2016.
The Gymnastics Club was formed in 1973 by parents inspired by the 1972 Munich
Olympic Games. The club has grown in strength and numbers over the subsequent
years and is now the biggest single sport provider in the surrounding three
boroughs. It provides weekly cheerleading and artistic gymnastics sessions for
approximately 1,300 young people and is the home training club for two current
British team members in Daniel Purvis, Olympic, Commonwealth, European and World
Medalist and Frank Baines, Commonwealth, British Senior and European Junior
Medalist.
Matt Dodd, chairman of the charity, said:- “After an initial campaign
aimed at securing the future of the club and a year of behind-the-scenes
negotiations with Southport YMCA, we are delighted to finally be taking over the
running of the club. We entered into this process with 2 key objectives in
mind. Our first goal was to preserve the gym club facilities for the use of
existing and all future members. Secondly, we wanted to safeguard the jobs of
gymnastics coaches and staff who are the lifeblood of the club. Without them the
club would not function and they have a vital role to play in its future.
The club has a proud history and our role now is to build on this as we move
into the next phase of the club’s development. These developments will require
fundraising and this will be one of our top priorities from September onwards
and we will look to work with the community to achieve that. The club has an
exciting future and we look forward to working with our coaches, parents and
gymnasts to ensure that the gymnastics and Cheerleading provision at Segars Lane
continues to be delivered to the highest standard. To support our future
developments for the club we will be forging strong links with British
Gymnastics, the national governing body for the sport. This will give gymnasts
at all levels the opportunity to compete in competitions and ensure that high
quality gymnastics provision continues to thrive at the heart of the community.
We thank the Southport YMCA staff for their support in securing the transition
of the club to the Southport and Ainsdale Gymnastics Club charity. None of this would have been possible without the legal advice we received
and a special mention should also go to Vaqas Farooq, Managing Partner at
Shoosmiths Manchester, and his team including James Skivington and James Brodie,
who provided advice throughout the negotiations on a pro bono basis.”
The Southport and Ainsdale Gymnastics Club is a Charitable Incorporated
Organisation (CIO), a new legal format introduced to allow charities to trade as
a legal body. |
