Gymnastics club secures £50,000 funding

A gymnastic club which trains at Woodside Leisure Centre has secured a whopping £50,000 in funding from Sport England. Dolphina Gymnastics Club was awarded the cash from the Inspired Facilities fund of Sport England’s Olympic Legacy scheme to transform a local warehouse into a gymnastics centre. Club founder and head coach, Karen Butler said she was thrilled on behalf of the club. “We are thrilled to have secured this investment from Sport England. The new gymnastics centre will help our gymnasts to achieve their full potential and enable Dolphina to build on the 2012 Olympics legacy and introduce the sport of gymnastics to many more children and adults.” The Woodside-based club has introduced thousands of local youngsters to gymnastics since it was founded in 1991.The funding will now enable Dolphina to move to their own state of the art, purpose built facility to get even more children involved. The move, expected to be in January 2014, will give the club the opportunity to expand both the range and number of classes available, including pre-school for those with disabilities and classes specifically aimed at teens and young adults – where there is a known national drop out from sport. It will also provide additional equipment including a permanent sprung floor. Dolphina is one of over 300 projects across England to receive lottery investment from the fourth round of the Inspired Facilities fund, and one of 1.300 to benefit overall. Chairman of Sport England, Nick Bitel, commented: “A year on from the Olympics, this National Lottery investment is helping us to deliver a lasting sporting legacy in Hertfordshire. “With investment now on offer from our Inspired Facilities Fund until 2017, we look forward to supporting many more sports clubs in the South East who play such a vital role in grassroots sport.” For more information about Dolphina, call 07981794455 or email dolphinagymclub@gmail.com