In 2019, Grays Gymnastics Club was awarded grants from the Gwynt y Môr and Rhyl Flats Offshore Windfarm Community Funds to refurbish their new premises. The club was previously operating out of 6 different leisure centres across Conwy and Denbighshire, with a membership of 500 gymnasts. The club identified a need to establish a permanent base. They had a waiting list of over 350 people, and they aimed to reduce this by using the new premises to conduct additional recreational classes, including parent and toddler, adult and local school classes. They also planned to train more volunteers for the club and have 2 members qualify as sports leaders.

Grays Gymnastics Club was awarded £9,120.00 by the Gwynt y Môr Offshore Windfarm Community Fund for carpets for the new training facility. This was a big task, as many areas of the premises needed new flooring. This would ensure the centre was more energy efficient by means of extra layer of insulation, which would reduce running costs.

The club was awarded £5,839.20 by the Rhyl Flats Offshore Windfarm Community Fund for a replacement boiler. Their new premises needed significant works to become usable for the club. The existing boiler had been condemned, and to meet the club’s needs, a new, fuel-efficient boiler was required. This would ensure that no energy was wasted, as it can be controlled to deliver heat to specific areas and it would ensure compliance with health and safety regulations for staff, individuals and the general public.

The renovation works were planned to take place in 2019. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemics, the project was postponed. The new boiler and carpets are now in place and the project is complete.   

Building on their progress so far, the club hopes to develop facilities to train coaches and deliver disability gymnastics. Additionally, they hope that in the future, they can deliver “free running classes”, as the club believes that this will attract a different membership than traditional gymnastics.