Northamptonshire trampoline club celebrated for inclusive approach and selected to be part of nationwide campaign

A British Gymnastics National Award winner for their outstanding work in equality and inclusion, Northamptonshire Trampoline Gymnastics Academy, continues to set the example that anybody can participate and enjoy gymnastics.

The club has had its story shared as part of British Gymnastics’ ‘Find Your Amazing’ campaign - created to celebrate people’s unique differences, skills and abilities in the sport and the many benefits gymnastics offers.

British Gymnastics has released a series of films, featuring inspirational gymnasts, coaches and clubs.

This marks the second phase of the campaign, which continues to celebrate the amazing stories of the sport, focusing on disability access and inclusion, mental health and well-being, diversity and gymnastics for social good, to encourage more parents and young people to consider gymnastics, highlighting its role as a key foundation sport and inspiring even more people to try it for a first time.

The club’s ‘Ability Zone Project’ provides inclusive access to state-of-the-art facilities, and to ensure that gymnastics continues to be a sport accessible to all, NTGA have developed strong relationships with local schools with SEN units and Northamptonshire’s local day centres and residential settings for people with disabilities.

A coach at the club for almost 13 years and now a specialist at delivering fully inclusive disability sessions, Glyn Dickinson reflected on how beneficial gymnastics is for those with disabilities, and the progress the club has made.

He said: “The key thing for us is there's no set structure that we necessarily follow, because we tailor it to each personal individually.

"So every individual that comes in, knows we will work on a session that will give them the most out it.

“You've got the physical side – because it's a really active sport but it doesn't feel like work, it feels just fun.

"We’ve noticed amazing improvement in lots of people’s posture as one example.

"Beyond that, you've got the mental health care and benefits as well.

"Our participants might come in looking quite tired, and then come out looking energised and happy, which is always amazing to see.

“One of my favourite coaching memories was working with a blind lady, which presented a unique challenge as often coaching is based on demonstration.

"I had to completely rethink how I engaged with her, and through a considered approach we managed to achieve a seat drop to front drop, which I think is quite incredible.

"It just shows that coaches can all learn from each other, and with the right environment gymnastics is accessible for everyone.”

Fellow coach Carrie Spikings, at NTGA since 2008, reiterated the importance of gymnastics that supports development and sensory needs, saying: “Gymnastics is amazing to keep people mobile and improve movement - but at the end of the day, the most important thing is that they're going to enjoy it.

"I think it's great people can participate regardless of their level, and importantly disabled people can join in.

“The benefits of trampoline are improved stamina, strength, coordination and balance skills.

"And for people that spend a lot of time just sitting in a wheelchair, it's really good for kidney function, lung function – everything.

"The chance to be able to move freely on the trampoline, it does wonders for our disabled gymnasts.

“So many different abilities can join in, sharing the same space which is really important.

"When it comes to gymnastics, we can all take part together, and all we can appreciate everybody else's individual skills.”

Cheri Pentelow is a parent who has brought her child Alfie to disability gymnastics for ten years – and couldn’t praise the club highly enough for their inclusive approach that has seen countless benefits for her son.

She said: “There is absolutely no pressure on the children, they come and have some fun and can do a bit of physio too.

"With Alfie, they said he'd never walk – but gymnastics has given him such confidence in movement which is amazing to see.

“This club support children regardless of any additional needs.

"We love coming here because actually it’s the only sport that he can do, that's fully accessible.

"This environment allows him to be active, and to work on his core strength, his balance and all those key skills.”

The Find Your Amazing campaign supports British Gymnastics’ recently announced vision for the sport, ‘Leap Without Limits’ which focuses on delivering ‘an uplifting gymnastics experience for all’ and highlights the importance of community clubs like Northamptonshire Trampoline Gymnastics Academy, providing fantastic gymnastics environments so all involved in the sport can thrive.

The campaign has been made possible thanks to funding from Sport England and National Lottery as part of the Commonwealth Games legacy and a £6.5million boost for Commonwealth Sports to innovate and drive participation, particularly in under-represented groups.

Everyone has something amazing about them that sets them apart, and gymnastics is a sport that welcomes people’s unique differences, skills and abilities.

To Find Your Amazing and see what’s on offer near you, visit www.british-gymnastics.org/discover or to hear more incredible stories visit www.british-gymnastics.org/find-your-amazing