A Vale of Glamorgan gymnastics club has found the winning formula and, thanks to continued Community Chest funding from the Sports Council for Wales, has their gymnasts vaulting to success.

Community Chest, which is celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year, is a National Lottery grant managed by the Sports Council for Wales and supported locally by the Vale of Glamorgan Council. It is designed to encourage more people to become more physically active, more often.

After a decade’s worth of investment totalling over £9million, the Sports Council for Wales and the National Lottery are celebrating the successes of community groups and sports clubs that have flourished through unlocking Community Chest funding.

Barry YMCA Gymnastics Club is one such example, having received four Community Chest grants since their very first Community Chest award of £750 in May 2005.

The club, which was named Welsh Gymnastics Club of the Year in 2006, has injected the National Lottery cash into putting in place a development pathway from pre-school through to high performance level for male, female and rhythmic gymnastic disciplines providing more opportunities for budding gymnasts to participate.

The last four years have seen the club invest nearly £3,500 from the Community Chest pot into ensuring that its 650 regular members have the opportunity to thrive under the supervision of highly qualified coaches and with the best possible equipment and facilities.

Anthea Clements, CEO of Barry YMCA Gymnastics Club comments:

"The Community Chest scheme has proved instrumental in the development and the success of the club and its gymnasts over the years. We have been lucky enough to receive funding on numerous occasions to plough into different projects and expand the opportunities on offer."

May 2005 saw the club receive their first award in order to establish a rhythmic gymnastics section which has subsequently thrived and has developed to encompass competitive opportunities.

Anthea Clements continues:

"Rhythmic gymnastics is one of our most successful disciplines and was established mainly through Community Chest funding. We used the money for the initial start-up costs such as purchasing the required equipment and further developing coaches to concentrate on this section. As a result two of our girls, Lorelei Westcott, 16 and Megan McIntyre, 9, have gone on to represent Wales."

Lorelei and Megan are not the only talents to back flip through the ranks at the Barry club; two male gymnasts have been successful in making the 2010 Commonwealth Games and British squads, with seven female gymnasts progressing into the Welsh Gymnastics Academy and three also into the British squads; not to mention the influx of gymnasts also competing for Wales on a regular basis.

With the older generation of Barry’s young gymnasts catered for - even those on the waiting list have the opportunity to participate in tumble and vault sessions – attention turned to ensuring that the future of gymnastics in Barry and Wales shines bright.

Not only did 2008 see £1000 of Community Chest cash injected into the purchase of pre-school equipment, funding was also used to ensure a sustainable future for the club through the development of the existing coaches and training and qualification of new coaches and volunteers to make the numbers up to 38 coaches linked with the club.

All in all, the club is revelling in success. Not only are its gymnasts performing on the national stage, its contribution to the sport and the successes of its gymnasts are also being recognised on a local level.

Anthea comments:

"Several of our gymnasts and coaches were awarded for their contribution to the sport at the Vale of Glamorgan’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards 2008. Both the senior male and senior female of the year went to Barry YMCA gymnasts along with one of our coaches, Pete Haysham, being awarded Performance Coach of the Year."

Senior Male of the Year, Nathan Mullett, went on to win the Welsh Gymnastics ‘Gymnasts of the Year Award’ for men’s artistic gymnastics at the recent Welsh Gymnastics National Awards

Since its inception in 1999, communities across the length and breadth of Wales have been investing heavily in sports and physical activity projects.

The Sports Council for Wales has recently raised the level of grant available. Organisations keen to develop sport and physical activity in Wales can receive up to £1000 for a qualifying project over a 12 month period.

Chair of the Sports Council for Wales, Philip Carling, said:

"Community Chest has been and continues to be a huge success and is very popular throughout the Vale of Glamorgan. Over the last ten years, it has made a big difference to small community projects right across Wales and now embraces all sorts of community groups such as the Women’s Institute, not just your local football club."

"Panels based in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales hold the purse strings and have delegated authority to award grants to worthwhile projects. We want to hear of bright ideas and projects that will get more people in the Vale of Glamorgan more active, more often."

Sports clubs are a vital part of the fabric of community life. They, and the people behind the scenes, have the opportunity to source and mould young talent into the stars of the future and instil the core values of hard work, belief and – above all – enjoyment of the sport.