Cardiff Olympic Gymnastics Ground Work Project

Aim

We want to create a safe, accessible, parking area and entrance to the gym.

Who are we?

We're a local gymnastics charity in the heart of Ely. The charity is nearly 30 years old and we moved into our own premises in 2018. We completely renovated the building, turning it from a derelict, abandoned unit to the fantastic facility we now open to the community 7 days a week. With the help and support of our volunteers and the local community we installed specialist flooring, equipment, heating and everything that is needed to create the safe and specialised spaces to really support the growth and development of our gymnasts. It worked ! We now see have over 500 gymnasts every week, from babies to teenagers, from grass-roots to National squad levels and higher.  Added to this we have our amazing parents and carers who get them here every day and provide us with the help and support needed to make it a real community hub.We invested so much into creating an excellent space inside but now it’s time to "make the magic happen" outside and for that we need your help please!

Why are we crowdfunding?

Our parking and outside entrance area is really limited, poorly laid out and in need of resurfacing. At busy times it can be cramped and unsafe , especially for families with young children or those that need even access space.  The stones make it difficult to walk on and the whole area is uneven. The estate is a busy estate so we want to be able to secure the parking for our own users only. This is not possible with our existing surface and area. 

We want to provide safer , more accessible parking that matches the standard of what we have created inside. This will ease congestion, reduce risks during drop-off and pick-ups , and make us really accessible to everyone. 

We hope to be able to receive additional match-funding from the Sports Wales Crowdfunder - A Place for Sport Scheme.  We truly believe the improvements to the car park and outside entrance will enable all our gymnasts to arrive and leave safely, allowing them to focus on what we strive to build in the gym - strength, skills, confidence and friendship.  The experience for all our visitors starts outside so it is really important to us that we make this happen.
 

How we’ll spend the money raised

We have a budget of £15,000. This will enable us to ;

1. Dig out and tarmac the existing parking area.

2. Replace safety fencing around the building and to the main entrance. 

3.  Increased signage

3. Re-surface the walkway to the main entrance. 

4. Secure parking area

Thanks to the kind, and generous support of local contractors and suppliers who have offered discounted rates, we have quotations that fall within the budget.

Community impact

We currently open 7 days a week and have over 500 gymnasts every week, most of whom are local to Ely so immediately the improvement will have a positive impact on the local community especially those who currently struggle to access the gym. We have previously opened the facilities to local schools to use for sports days and for regular PE sessions during the day.  We really want to increase what we can offer to local groups of all types and ages but we are limited in what we can currently offer due to our existing parking facility. 

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made