Proposed new home for Guernsey Gymnastics

Sunday 05 September 2021

A new future for Guernsey Gymnastics Academy could reside at Oatlands.

A planning application has been submitted for a new gymnastics centre in what is currently the open play barn at Oatlands.

The existing roof and timber cladding have been lined with insulated panels and the large opening facing the courtyard closed in to create a large open plan space for the gymnastics.

A small extension on the north elevation will provide an entrance, changing rooms and toilet facilities. The planning application says there will be no change to the external appearance of the building when viewed from the surrounding roads. 

Guernsey Gymnastics Academy (GGA) was formed in 2016, but has previously struggled with a lack of suitable space and facilities.

GGA is currently based at the Indoor Sports Centre, which is being sold at the end of 2021, therefore leaving GGA without a base. 

Pictured: Moving to the proposed Oatlands site would give the 150 prospective members on the waiting list the opportunity to get involved in gymnastics.

Due to the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique size requirements, the only accommodating venue is the Sir John Loveridge Hall at Beau Sejour, which the Academy would only have access to between May and September normally, and which currently houses the island's only vaccination centre. 

The “open barn” has the appropriate dimensions for gymnastics and would only require a small amount or work to become a permanent establishment.

Director of the Indoor Sports Centre, Pete Vidamour, said: “This will result in the sport of gymnastics continuing to thrive in the Island and provide in excess of 500 young people access to a sport which they enjoy tremendously.”

Mr Vidamour added that the GGA has the backing of the Guernsey Sports Commission who plan to include gymnastics as one of their “core sports” in the future of sport in Guernsey.