Dear Gymsport Families,
We know that COVID-19 has brought serious challenges to our gymnastics family. For many of our members it has been difficult to stay positive, motivated, and committed to a sport we love when the road back to the gym has seemed so far away. We are so proud of our community in showing flexibility and creative thinking in their training so far and thank you for your patience and understanding while we have navigated our way through these unprecedented demands.
We admit that we haven’t got everything right, that there is some disappointment and frustration in the scarcity of communication, and that for some of our members, the last few months have been very difficult.
Please know that despite gymnastics sessions being suspended, our coaching teams have been hard at work trying to organise ways to deliver training programs and challenges to our members. This looks different across groups and levels owing to legal, insurance, and mandated restrictions on a National scale that affects our programs differently. These matters are out of our control, and we apologise that we cannot bring all our innovative ideas to fruition within the current climate.
During the shut-down we have taken the opportunity to look at our club, think about what we want our club to be, and plan our way forward in a more positive, transparent, and supportive environment.
Firstly, we have established a sub-committee inclusive of families, coaches, and users of the Gymsport programs to establish clearer communication between Blackwood Recreation Centre, Blackwood Gymsports, and our members and their families. The committee are working hard to address some of the clubs’ weakness and shortcomings by removing the additional admin load from our coaches, coordinating a uniform shop and orders, taking the lead on fundraising activities to improve the experience and facilities of our members, and to promote an enjoyable community feel for all users of Blackwood Gymsports. If you would like to contribute to any of these areas, or have feedback you would like to share with the committee, I invite you to contact our co-presidents, Belinda Angus (belle.angus@gmail.com) and Kimberly Spares (kimspares@hotmail.com).
Secondly, our coaches have been busy during the centre closure giving our hall a thorough clean including vacuuming, steam cleaning mats, wiping down all equipment, rearranging the facilities, re-securing equipment, and so much more! The new layout will allow us to better use the space for all our programs. We are so proud of the work our team have been doing during this challenging time and can’t wait for you to see it!
While we are not quite ready to return to Gymsports, we are well on our way to getting back to what we love doing. We are watching Government and industry guidelines closely and will be in touch as soon as we have the green light! In the meantime, we will be touching base on a regular basis with updates and the staged plan and/or changes to training structure and hours as soon as we know more. Furthermore, we will be posting fun challenges, training activities and further information on our social media pages so we encourage you to head on over to Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/blackwoodgymsports/) or Instagram (@Blackwood_gymsports) and give us a follow to stay up to date with our club.
Once again, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all our Gymsport members and families for supporting us through these challenging times, and look forward to welcoming you all back in the near future.
Stay safe!
Belinda Angus
On behalf of our Coaches and Sub Committee Members
BLACKWOOD GYMSPORTS | E: infoblackwoodgymsports@gmail.com | Follow us on Facebook: Blackwood Gymsports and Insta | Blackwood_Gymsports
