Dundee Gymnastics Club doubles capacity by springing into new gymnasium

With funding from leading responsible finance provider, Social Investment Scotland (SIS), Dundee Gymnastics Club 2K, has opened a second gymnasium on Brown Street following an extensive refurbishment of a former recycling warehouse. A £125,000 loan supported the lease of the 330-square-metre building and the installation of new equipment, including a sprung floor, three sets of bars, beams, a vault with a 25m run-up, and a landing pit. 

The new site has doubled the club’s capacity, meaning it can now accommodate over 600 recreational members for its weekly group classes, including opening up more spaces in its toddler classes for children as young as one year old. 

Following an upgrade of its facilities, the club is looking to inspire and nurture even more young gymnasts, ranging from those who want to get involved for health and recreation to those with aspirations of reaching a competitive level.  

The number of high-performance gymnasts the club works with will rise from 90 to 120. High-performance gymnasts train in groups of up to eight, for up to 20 hours per week and require access to top-class facilities to be able to compete at international events. Until now, Dundee Gymnastics Club 2K has been reliant on hired space at the McTaggart Regional Gymnastics Centre to deliver this kind of specialist coaching. 

Clare Huxley, chair of Dundee Gymnastics Club 2K, said: “Gymnastics is a fantastic sport for young people in terms of promoting health, wellbeing, confidence, creativity and discipline and our recreational classes have always proved incredibly popular. Access to Olympic-grade facilities is key for supporting and developing the type of talent that can go on to compete at the top level. We have previously had two gymnasts compete at the Commonwealth Games, and who knows, with new facilities to help them train, we may be able to send more athletes to events like that in future.