Welcome to your club newsletter. Inside you will find information on the following:
Trustees
We would like to take this opportunity to introduce the KGC Trustees:
- Chair: Feargal Dalton
- Treasurer / Gym Coordinator: Natalie Robertson
- Communications: Ben MacKinnon
- Secretary: Karen Irvine
- Ex-officio Gymnastics Advisor: Colin Ross
Fundraising
The fundraising team have been busy in the last few months organising events. We would like to thank Katrina Balfour, who has sadly stepped down as Head Fundraiser, for all her hard work arranging these events for Kingston Gymnastics Club. We would also like to welcome on board our new fundraising team: Richard Baillie, Clare Campbell, Lindsey Mathie and continuing in the role, Margaret Hardie.
Funds To Date:
- £831.00 Family fundraiser – Cartha Ruby Club
- £603.00 Morrisons Bag Packing
This has been a fantastic amount of money raised and we would like to thank all parents/guardians and gymnasts for their support.
All current equipment in the gym, including the sprung floor and tumble track, are the property of Urban Gymnastics Club, however, Kingston are paying Urban £500.00 each month until we would hope to have fully purchased the gym equipment, within the next 4 years.
Applications have been submitted to the following:
- McCarthy & Stone = £1000.00
- Glasgow City Council Integrated Grant Funding = £TBC
Employee Led Giving:
We are looking for any bag packing opportunities so if you know of any store that would be able to offer us this, could you please get in touch to advise.
Section Updates
Acro Section
FIG
The FIG Acro section is coming to the end of our competition season, with our last competition being the British Championships in Liverpool at the end of July 2019.
It has been a successful year for the section. We now have gymnasts in GB squads and Scottish Performance Pathways.
Two partnerships from our club represented Scotland at the first Home Nations Tournament in April 2019, where they achieved first place with Team Scotland and also individual medals in their respective categories.
At the Scottish Championships on 8 June 2019 the club achieved:
- 1st place 13-19 Mixed Pairs
- 2nd place 11-16 Women’s Groups
- 3rd place 11-16 Women’s Groups
We have 6 partnerships who are competing at the British Championships 2019.
Following the British Championships, the FIG coaching team will be assessing some partnerships as to whether changes will be made going forwards into the next competition year.
The Pat Wade Classic has been moved to February 2020 which will make the Scottish Invitational, January 2020, our first competition of the new season.
The FIG coaching team are also looking at the possibility of attending an international competition next year. We are looking at a few options to work out costs and more information will be provided in due course.
Colin Ross: FIG Head Coach
IDP/NDP
I would like to congratulate all of our NDP partnerships on their performances in the Scottish Championships. The gymnasts performed their routines very well.
I am looking forward to a much more prepared season and to see what both IDP and NDP gymnasts can do with more competition experience under their belt.
I believe we are close to having completed nearly all parents meetings for both IDP and NDP partnerships to discuss the upcoming season and opportunities that we are hoping to provide for our IDP/NDP gymnasts.
For those parents I have not yet met with, we are looking for our gymnasts in Grades 1-4 to be wearing a uniformed leotard for this upcoming season. I will be discussing this in more detail with parents soon and will release an email by the end of June discussing what this leotard will be. It will however, be in our club colours.
I appreciate the support from parents, especially when dealing with recent training time changes, and will endeavour to keep these to a minimum as best as possible.
Should parents wish to get in touch with me, please don’t hesitate to email me on Andz89@hotmail.co.uk. If there is more immediate answers required, please catch me before or after training and i will be happy to discuss any issues.
Andrew Fowler: IDP/NDP Head Coach
Tumble Section
Tumbling in 2019 has seen a massive improvement not just in improving skill development but also results in recent competitions. The squads have attended many club and national competitions around Scotland, including Club Grade League, Sapphire Competition, NDP Qualifiers, and FIG Open & Team Championships, where they have been competing against some of the best clubs in Scotland.
All gymnasts have been improving their final scores since last year’s Scottish Championships in Perth. The gymnasts brought home the following medals:
- Gold = 7
- Silver = 9
- Bronze = 4
Squads
Development: We have some new faces who have recently joined Tumble. All have been showing great progress recently and are looking forward to their first club competition later this year.
Competitive: Two gymnast have recently moved from Development to Competitive with one achieving a Bronze medal at her first NDP competition and the other is hoping to attend her first NDP competition at the Scottish Qualifiers in August 2019.
Advanced: We have one gymnast who attended her first NDP Regional Semi Final in Birmingham.
Testing
Testing will take place on Monday 24 and Friday 28 June 2019 and will consist of a similar structure from last testing which was in December 2018. The structure will consist of a skills and conditioning day where the gymnasts will be looking to advance their skills and conditioning. Records will be updated and I will arrange a meeting with parents and gymnasts to discuss improvements. A text will go out to each group after testing is complete to arrange a suitable date/time.
Fraser Gibson: Tumble Head Coach
Recreational & Pre-school
Our recreation classes had their first Kingston competition in May 2019 and all performed well. It can be a bit scary performing in front of a crowd but they all took it in their stride. Well done to all our gymnasts who took part. We hope the winners in each category enjoy their free KGC Summer Camp sessions!
When the recreational classes return after the summer break, the gymnasts will be working on set skills during each block. At the end of each block parents/carers will be invited to the class for a short time, to see their progress.
We are continuing to run our pre-school classes over the summer holidays at the usual time of 9.45am – 10.30am.
The Saturday recreational classes will also continue over the holidays and are open to any of our recreational gymnasts.
- 10.30am – 11.30am class for children up to age 8
- 11.30am – 12.30pm class for children over age 8
Due to many of our gymnasts going on holiday, these classes will be £5 per session and run on a drop-in basis over the holidays.
Display
The Display team recently performed at the Scottish Gymnastics Gymfest held at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility. They performed on the Friday Opening Gala and again on the Saturday morning.
This was the last performance of their Grand Prix routine.
The Display team is now open to new members who would like to join. To try the class please reserve a space by emailing: info@kingstongymnastics.org. Gymnasts must be able to bridge kickover, headstand and have flat splits on one side. Open to gymnasts age 7 years and over.
Amiee Alexander: Display Lead Coach
Adult Class
We offer an adult gymnastics class on a Tuesday from 8pm – 9pm. All ages and abilities are welcome!!
Family Fun Nights
KGC Race Night will take place on Saturday 20th July 2019 @ 7pm in the Neptune Social Club, 101 Clifford Street, Glasgow, G51 1QP. Ticket price is £5.00 per adults and £3.00 per child. Horses are available to buy in advance for £3.00, even if you can’t make it on the night!
Gymnasts Awards Night 2019 will take place on Saturday 31st August 2019 @ 7pm in the Go Glasgow Urban Hotel, Paisley Road West, Glasgow, G51 1RW. Ticket price will be £12.00 for Adults and £6.00 for Children. This will be a red carpet event, celebrating our gymnasts with an awards ceremony, buffet, games and a disco.
We hope to see a great turnout from all parents/guardians to support not only their section, but the club as a whole. This event will be a great night!
Birthday Parties
Kingston Gymnastics Club offers birthday parties on a Saturday between 5.30pm and 7.30pm. This would give the children 1 hour in the gym with coaches, which will include games as well as gymnastics, and 1 hour in the Waiting Area where you can provide food and drink for the children. Several people have ordered Pizza or a McDonald’s for the children to enjoy, or you can of course, provide your own food. For further information, please speak to any of the coaches.
General Information
We can only run this club successfully with the support of our members. A number of parents have now volunteered to help with various tasks but more help would be gratefully received. This would allow us to move forward quicker. Thank you to everyone who has given up their time, so far, to help us.
In particular, we are looking for a parent helper to assist with our Merchandise orders. If you are interested in helping us with this, please speak to one of the Trustee’s or coaching staff.
Safeguarding
We have two Safeguarding Officers, Senga Cameron and Lisa McLean.
KGC recognises its responsibility to provide a safe and enjoyable environment where children can learn gymnastics without the risk of harm, abuse or exploitation.
If you have any concerns regarding safeguarding, please contact our safeguarding officers confidentially via our email address: safeguarding@kingstongymnastics.org
Improvements
There is a suggestion box on the office table where gymnasts/parents/guardians can leave any suggestions they feel could be beneficial to their section or the club as a whole.
Fees
An emergency increase to fees starting 1st July 2019 is now required to make the club sustainable. Information has been emailed to you and posted in WhatsApp groups addressing this issue. You can also visit the Fees page of the site to see the latest information.
We are currently owed hundreds of pounds in unpaid fees. As you are aware, after our recent members meeting, the club cannot pay bills/overheads if fees are not paid. All fees should be paid on the 1st of each month. It is imperative that a Standing Order is set up for the 1st of each month, this is when all outgoings come out of the Club bank account. As it is a standing order, it is your responsibility to update payment details.
Please ensure your child’s name appears as a reference. This will enable the Treasurer to confirm that payment has been made for your child.
Kingston Gymnastics Club Bank Account Details
- Royal Bank of Scotland
- Sort Code: 83-22-10
- Account Number: 11934582
Social Media
Kingston Gymnastics Club is on FaceBook. Please like our page!!
We are also on :
Twitter: @KingstonGymnast
Instagram: Kingston.gymnastics.club
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support. Hopefully with your help, Kingston Gymnastics Club will go from strength to strength.
Best Regards
Board of Trustees
Kingston Gymnastics Club