Young Leader Programme and Academy

Working with enthusiastic young people to provide volunteering opportunities within their club. This initiative was set up to create confident young coaches that could see themselves with a career in sport. It was taken from the British Gymnastics pathway of the Leaders Academy for 11 to 16 year olds to be engaged with coaching.

This amazing pathway has seen over 120 volunteers through its doors, providing jobs for over 40 young people, with over 60 in volunteering roles across our three sites. South Essex have an incredible team of coaches that are passionate about sharing their knowledge and ideas with the next generation of coaches.

We have shown this by running regular training sessions for our volunteers on different pathways, to show the variation in the sport and help educate all areas to build a well-rounded coach.

Our Young Leaders also enjoyed their first reward trip to Colchester Zoo, generously funded by the Jack Petchey Foundation, to celebrate all their hard work and dedication over the past few years.

Community Grants and Funding

Rhythmic fundraising towards a replacement carpet:

• Go Fund Me£1,055
• Cake Sale£656.56
• Virtual Balloon Race£126.34
• Leotard Competition£224
• Total£2,061.90

Jack Petchey Award: the foundation was nominated for the Leaders Award, which celebrates our coaches over 18 and also brings in a further £1,000 towards the club.

Schools Partnership Programme

In 2022 the Schools Partnership Programme was created. SEGC visited local teacher conferences to pitch the idea to schools in the Basildon area. As a result, in 2023 we visited 3 schools: Billericay Primary School, Felmore Primary School and Runwell Primary School. These coaches have been a huge support behind the schools programme and the running of the 6 weeks.

This resulted in some lovely feedback for coaches and children being talent spotted for MAG and WAG groups. We made a further link with our 4th school, Downham Primary School, in 2024, where Gemma and Max completed a 6 week programme working with Year 1 children and enthused them to become involved in the world of gymnastics.

Following the positive comments, we have had further interest from outside the area in school visits and hosting school events, both at SEGC and visiting. Cara led a CPD pathway with Eversley, taking coaches through the basics of supporting young children and the key skills needed to aid young gymnasts.

This partnership would not have been possible without the support of Active Essex. We were able to provide 5 primary schools with free classes for a 6 week rotation. Active Essex allocated £1,500 to support South Essex with this project, which went towards the cost of the classes, equipment used within the schools and travel expenses for coaches.

Gymnastics in your school

Outside Funding Applications

During a very strange time in the world, South Essex was coping with a pandemic and also keeping the club alive. Go Fund Me sites were set up to provide a small income for the club. Virtual quiz nights allowed club members to still feel part of the club, raising £320 with the help of Jack Holgarth hosting the event.

• Crowdfunder and Sport England£6,500
• Allianz Sports Fund£3,000
• Active Essex (supporting blocks)£1,500
• The Cherry Tree family£500

Crowdfunder and Sport England provided a huge support, with rewards for donations provided by coaches and local companies, partly funded by Sport England as a match promise. The Allianz Sports Fund, suggested by a parent of one of our members, went towards a new slide and supporting blocks used for SEN sessions. In 2021 the Cherry Tree family funded sensory equipment for our pre-school programme, with an additional £500 awarded that put coaches on further education courses, including our Young Leader pathways. Also in 2021, with no contact supporting allowed with gymnasts, Active Essex awarded £1,500 which bought 3 new supporting blocks for Gym 2.

Working with Active Essex and Active Basildon, Brentwood

South Essex is keen to keep good communication with Active Essex partners to help provide sport in the community at all levels, providing health benefits for those in the Basildon area. Funding opportunities arise at each event, and we will always be looking for the next support for the club and its ever growing community.

Basildon Awards and Active Essex Awards evenings

South Essex has seen some incredible gymnasts and coaches walk through its doors. These awards give us an opportunity to highlight some of their achievements within the community. South Essex won Club of the Year in 2022, with both Courtney Tulloch and Georgia-Mae Fenton nominated and awarded Athlete of the Year. Dave and Yoan Ivanov, along with Alexander Niscoveanu, were nominated for Junior Sportsperson of the Year 2023, with Shannon Archer and Max Whitlock shortlisted for Athlete of the Year. Shannon was awarded Top Athlete for her achievements at the Commonwealth Games.