Footscray City Gymnastics Club has been named Gymnastic Victoria’s “large club of the year” for 2015.
Based in West Footscray, the club has more than 950 members and 40 dedicated coaches.
Club programming assistant Georgia Cardillo described the award as a huge achievement.
“It was a real honour just to be in the running for an award like that, especially being a non-for-profit club,” she said. “It’s good because all our programs are for the benefit of the community.”
Footscray City’s point of difference is that it offers both recreational and competitive programs. It runs classes to cater for junior age groups right through to seniors.
Some clubs have a win-at -all-costs mentality, while Footscray City’s motto is “skills for life”.
“We’re a community-based club so not all our gymnasts compete; it is a choice,” Cardillo said.
“What we focus on here is building people’s confidence and letting them grow in character … so their social skills are developing with their physical, gymnastics skills.
“With our junior programs, we focus more on the skills for life.
“Some clubs do competition only, others don’t compete at all.
“Here, we offer programs for beginners, programs for recreational gymnasts and programs for competitions.”
In an Olympic year, interest in gymnastics will continue to grow and the demands will overwhelm some smaller clubs.
Footscray City’s West Footscray venue is well equipped to absorb a swell in numbers when the Rio Olympics start.
“We’re so lucky to have such an amazing venue,” Cardillo said.
“It’s really big and we can utilise the space with so many classes going on at once.
“The club is constantly growing … each year and each term, we’re getting more numbers in.”
Footscray City’s greatest strength is its coaches.
The club boasts a dedicated team of coaches with varying skill sets to ensure no age group or skill level is overlooked.
“Our coaching team together won us that award,” Cardillo said.
“It’s great having coaches who can take both classes from six months old up to our adult gym classes.
“All our coaches are fully qualified. We’re always updating accreditations and workshops to be able to deliver the best programs we can for our members.”
