Temporary new home provides high-quality training venue for Honiton Gymnastics Club

Honiton Gymnastics Club plans to gradually rollout gymnastics again as soon as possible.

Honiton Gymnastics Club has moved into a new home – next to Argos on Heath Retail Park – following temporary change of use approval from East Devon District Council.

The move will see 160 competition group gymnasts back training in a regular space again and the gradual re-introduction of recreational gymnastics session.

It follows almost six months of uncertainty for the club, where competition-group gymnasts have been training in six different venues in and around Honiton Community College.

"This is a huge relief and a positive step towards getting gymnastics back on track again in Honiton," said board member and high-performance coach James Reddy.

"Our initial priority has been to move our equipment out of storage, set up our new centre, and ensure everything is in place for our regular competition group classes to ensure that they can continue to enter local, regional and national championships.

"We still have some essential preparation work to do at the centre, but our attention will then turn to our recreational, Gym-Crazy Kids and Turbo Toddlers classes.

"The move into the new centre has only been possible thanks to the help of a whole raft of people, from the political support of councillors, MPs, parents and sporting bodies to the on-the-ground hard-work and determination of many people close to us.

"Over the past six months – while we have struggled to secure a temporary home – volunteers have helped us moved eight shipping-containers-worth of equipment in and out of different storage areas, ferried mats around Honiton and finally pulled together as a community to get the new facility up and running.

"Parent and coach Ben Lee has put up a new reception barrier, installed touch-button technology to the automatic doors and re-built all of our pigeon holes and reception desks, and we've had additional specialist help from many others.

"There are too many people to acknowledge individually but we'd like the thank anyone that has given up their time to help Honiton Gymnastics Club move forwards in recent months.

"It's wonderful to be in our new place," added James, "but although the new venue already feels like home, regrettably it is less than half the size of our previous centre on Ottery Moor Lane.

"We're therefore currently looking at creative ways to use the space effectively and ensure we can get as many young people enjoying gymnastics again.

"We expect to start rolling out these classes again within the next month or so and – although we will have to compromise by changing some training times and spaces – we are determined to get Honiton's gymnastics community back together again in one venue as soon as we can.

"We'd like to thank all those who were members of termly classes at our old venue for their patience and ask them to bear with us just a little longer while we get provision in place to put sessions on again and be as flexible as possible with any changes we have to put in place."

In addition to the regular sessions, Honiton Gymnastics Club will also soon be starting up its Fun4Baby, Turbo Toddlers and Gym-Crazy Kids sessions on a Tuesday morning again from 9.30am-11.30am.

These pay-as-you-go classes include 30-minutes of structured sessions for young children, plus use of the soft-play equipment and access to the whole gymnastics centre.

Honiton Gymnastics Club will also be starting up pay-as-you-go gymnastics sessions again, on a first-come-first-served basis, every Saturday, for any gymnasts who are not yet in termly gymnastics sessions.

These sessions will start again on Saturday 25 May and will now run from 1pm until 2pm.