Published on:
15
October 2012
Alloa Amateur Gymnastics Club, the oldest established club of its kind in Scotland, are looking forward to their new home in the Wasp Centre, Alloa.
The Club which currently operates in the Speirs Centre has been involved in negotiations for over a year involving Clackmannanshire Council, Wasp Community Club, Sports Scotland and Scottish Gymnastics with a view to creating a dedicated specialist gymnastics facility in the area.
The facility, which will be managed by Wasp Community Club and Alloa Gym Club, will also be open to other interested parties involved in the sport who might wish to rent in time.
Council funding, which will support the creation of a state-of-the-art gymnastics facility for the whole of Clackmannanshire, was agreed earlier in the year.
An additional one-off payment of £61,000 to Alloa Gymnastics Club was also previously agreed by the Council.
Alloa Gymnastics Club, in association with Wasp Community Club and the Mulraney Group, are now set to begin work to develop a new permanent gymnastics facility at Clackmannan Road, Alloa.
Funding from SportScotland is less then previously anticipated and the additional Council funding will meet that shortfall, with SportScotland matching the Council's funding.
Depute Leader of Clackmannanshire Council, Councillor Craig Holden said: "This funding will allow the club to develop a new facility in Alloa which will maintain their position as a leading club of competition level gymnastics. Alloa Gymnastics Club have competitors who have competed at the highest national and international levels.
"This new facility will be an enormous boost to gymnastics across Clackmannanshire and will act as a catalyst for further gymnastic development in Clackmannanshire, supporting the already very successful pre-school and primary school gymnastic programmes."
Work on the new facility began this week with some of the young members of the Alloa Gymnastics Club taking the chance to have a look around what will soon become their new home.
Wasp Community Club Chairman, Greig Strang, said: "The establishment of the Gymnastics Centre is another important step for Wasp Community Club to expand its involvement in a variety of sports.
"The Club has had great success in football, basketball, and dance and continues to expand at a fantastic rate, with well in excess of 300 members.
"The move into gymnastics will allow the Club to continue this expansion and in conjunction with a number of partners, start to look at potential employment opportunities that a club of this size can generate.
"Wasp Community Club is very excited with the opportunity this facility will afford for the development of gymnastics in Clackmannanshire and looks forward to building on the work already taking place in schools and in the local gym clubs"