Scottish sporting excellence will be celebrated at the Sunday Mail and sportscotland Scottish Sports Awards in December, and one booming Dumbarton gymnastics club could be in the running for award glory.
Now in its 13th year, the annual event, which is sponsored by sportscotland – the national agency for sport – celebrates the heroes throughout Scottish sport by awarding our sportsmen, women, teams and volunteers for their outstanding achievements in 2019.
And among those who could be in contention is West Dunbartonshire Gymnastics Club.
The club received three years of Direct Club Investment from the National Lottery, allowing them to open a dedicated gymnastics facility in partnership with West Dunbartonshire Leisure.
Since then, membership has more than tripled, with more than 120 youngsters now involved in the club.
Members are also encouraged to get involved in volunteering and coaching alongside their gymnastics activity and the club has launched a free scholarship scheme that will benefit 10 pupils from St Michael’s and Dalreoch primary schools.
Jenny Davidson, a development coordinator at WDGC, said: "From the start we set out to make this a community club. Getting our own home was a massive step because there was a clearly a demand for gymnastics in the area and word of mouth has continued to increase that demand.
"We wanted to improve the sessions and the number of gymnastics disciplines we could offer to people, and the dedicated facility enabled us to do that.
"At the same time we were able to recruit a Level 3 coach and develop our own in-house coaches and volunteers by giving young leaders a pathway to remain in the sport.
"We also make sure membership is affordable for everyone and support families with discounts on competition leotards and sibling membership discounts."
Chair of sportscotland, Mel Young, said: "It has been another fantastic year for sport in Scotland.
"Scottish athletes continue to shine on the world stage and there is terrific work being done by the sporting community across the country to increase the opportunities for as many people as possible to take part in sport.
"It is wonderful to have another chance to recognise such dedicated and hard-working people alongside Scotland’s elite athletes."
