A message to the community from our CEO (October 2022)

I joined Welsh Gymnastics as Chief Executive Officer on the 25^th of July this year which coincided with the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which I had the pleasure of attending. 

And what a brilliant Games, I was simply in awe of the stunning performances our incredibly talented Team Wales gymnasts put in and was struck too by the fantastic support they received – we definitely won the award for the most vocal supporters! It was such a delight seeing the arena packed out every single day, which included Welsh fans from across our entire community.

We really did leave our mark on the Games.

It really was a team effort – and of course would not be possible without the support and dedication of all the coaches, clubs, volunteers and other support staff who put in so much hard work in day in day out, year in year out, to help our gymnasts realise their dream of competing on such a stage.

Here at Welsh Gymnastics, we are currently working on a number of key pieces of work – not least our response the recommendations made in The Whyte Review, which was published in June.

It really was a watershed moment for our sport, I am fully committed to working with the whole of the Welsh gymnastics community to ensure that the kind of culture and behaviours, identified in the review, are eradicated from our sport. We will shortly be publishing our new Safe Sport plan, filled with the actions and commitments needed to ensure that our sport puts the gymnast’s welfare and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do.

Without exception, nothing is more important than safeguarding our gymnasts, a view I am confident is shared across the gymnastics community.

I am also leading a review of the membership benefits that are provided, across our membership, for clubs, coaches, gymnasts, and their families. We are working hard on the rapid development of additional benefits to offer members, in this membership year. 

Through joining forces, we will use the power of the collective to bring offers to the gymnastics community – this will include benefits such as helping clubs tackle the rising cost of energy, to launching our Gymnastics Rewards scheme, which will help all our members and their families to reduce the cost of living through an extensive range of discounts off everyday purchases, from the weekly shop to Christmas gifts and days out.  

Finally, I am just starting to do a tour of every club in Wales, so I hope to have the opportunity of meeting with many of you soon.

I’ll sign off by saying once again that I am delighted to have been given the opportunity of leading Welsh Gymnastics into a bright future, as we unleash the true potential of our gymnastics family.  

Victoria