Press Release
Council supports community groups
The Council’s Grants Unit awarded £24,210 to 11 community groups in April and May this year.
Among the eight awards given out under the Development Grant Aid Scheme, the Shetland Gymnastics Association received £3,000 to help with the cost of attending Gymfest, a national gymnastics display festival in Ayrshire at the end of April.
Julie Grant, the clubs secretary and coach said that approximately 1,500 gymnasts from the UK and Ireland performed routines over the three-day event at the Magnum Centre in Irvine.
She said “Our team performed a three minute routine at the gala performance on the Friday evening and an eight minute routine on the Saturday afternoon. We had the opportunity to watch other clubs from all over Britain perform, which is a great experience for our young club and coaches.
“Our gymnasts also had the chance to train on purpose built equipment with a sprung floor and foam pits. This makes a huge difference to their abilities and everything is much safer and easier on their bodies. This year we had two gymnasts able to perform somersaults on the floor for the first time because they had the proper facilities”.
Speaking about the benefits of being able to attend competitions off Shetland, Mrs Grant said:
“Our gymnast and coaches always come home full of enthusiasm and new ideas to use in our own classes and displays which benefits the club as a whole. Every year we make new contacts with other clubs south and these contacts are useful when we head south to competitions where we can visit these clubs and form bonds”
You can watch the Shetland team perform their routine at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvLt_6Zuwlc
Among the grants given out to help maintain community facilities, the Skeld Pier Trust received £5,000 to help with the costs of making repairs. The pier has been in need of repair for some time now and this grant, along with £23,906 from the Council’s Economic and Development Unit will go towards the total cost of the project.
The Bridge End Outdoor Centre also received £5,000 as part of the Council’s Support Grant Aid Scheme to help with running costs.
The centre is managed by a voluntary committee and provides self catering accommodation for organised groups.
Vice Chairman of the Bridge End Outdoor Centre, David Henry said:
“The running cost grant has allowed us to keep the centre in good working order. We needed to carry out some repair work on the pier and also the slipway as it was becoming dangerous to use. We have been able to continue with improvements to the centre itself, with some replacement windows and work done to the porch area”.
To find out more about the types of grants available for community and voluntary groups in Shetland, contact the Grants Unit on 01595 743 828 or visit:
http://www.shetland.gov.uk/community/grantaid
For the full list of grants for April and May 2011 click here.
