Gymnastics club celebrates 50th birthday

A very special gym club celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday – and the foundations are in place for the club to keep growing in the next 50 years.Originally based at Providence Street, King’s Lynn Gymnastics Club first opened its doors back in 1974.The club quickly outgrew the premises and moved to Springwood High School two years later.As the club grew boys and girls were separated with the girls remaining at Springwood and the boys moving to KES.In 1991, KES sports hall burnt down and both clubs merged as Lynnsport was built and they moved into the purpose-built gymnastics hall which has been the club’s home ever since.To mark their special milestone, there were two sell-out shows in front of more than 1,200 spectators before a special VIP evening where gymnasts and coaches, past and present came together to share memories.Tommy Goode, head of performance and development said: “I am extremely proud of our gymnastics and coaches for the amazing displays showcasing the quality of gymnasts we have at Lynnsport. “A huge thank you to the whole Alive team for an amazing day. We finished the day with a party to celebrate the 50 years with the founder of the club and those who have been part of it over the years. “It was fantastic to see what gymnastics and Lynnsport mean to so many people and we will endeavour to keep pushing the boundaries and gymnastics for years to come.”Saturday’s two shows saw gymnasts as young as 18 months from the pre-school programmes up to the Senior Elite gymnasts who compete nationally. The shows included a fantastic routine by our coaches.The coaching team ranges from volunteers as young as 13 with some progressing into employment from 14 as they undertake their Gymnastics Helper awards before they undertake their level 1 coaching award at 16, level 2 at 18 and we have coaches at level 3 and 4 as well as a British Gymnastics High Performance coach. This combined with more than 1,000 places taken on the programme as well as the ever-popular Tumble Teds and Tumble Tykes programmes, recent refurbishments of the gymnastics facility supported by West Norfolk Council and Kings Lynn Gymnastics Fundraising Committee means King’s Lynn Gymnastics is in great shape for the next 50 years.At the VIP evening, coaches from throughout the years shared their stories in a presentation of the club through the ages. Anne Wright, who was one of the founders of the club, alongside Doug and Janette Skipper who managed the boys club, to Caroline Twigden who was strategic in the running of the gymnastics programme for over 25 years, to Jimmy Xu who is the current head coach, and PJ Eggleton the gymnastics performance development manager all spoke about the club’s fantastic achievements.The event was sponsored by Eric’s Fish and Chips and Eric’s Pizza both located at Drove Orchards in Thornham.If anyone is interested in joining the gymnastics programme please contact Lynnsport on 01553 818001 or community@alivewestnorfolk.co.uk