Club Focus: Clarence Gymsports Is Building Confidence Through Movement

With 800 athletes and programs spanning early learning through to competitive gymnastics, Clarence Gymsports is helping people across its community become more active, confident and resilient.

The club was established in 2013 after taking over Wildcats Gymnastics. Today, it operates from a permanent 680-square-metre facility within Citywide Baptist Church.

For Clarence Gymsports, however, gymnastics is about more than learning physical skills. It is an opportunity to encourage lifelong movement, participation and wellbeing while giving every athlete a place to belong.

A pathway for every participant

Clarence Gymsports offers programs for a wide range of ages, abilities and goals, including Kindergym, early learning for children aged zero to five, educational gymnastics, girls’ recreational gymnastics, recreational tumbling and competitive gymnastics.

The club also works with school groups and provides GymAbility programs, private NDIS sessions and supported participation opportunities.

Its youth leadership program gives young people another way to develop within the club, helping them grow from participants into confident coaches and leaders.

Together, these programs provide pathways from grassroots participation and recreational gymnastics through to higher levels of competition.

Creating more opportunities to participate

Through Gymnastics Direct’s 20 years, $20,000 initiative with Gymnastics Tasmania, Clarence Gymsports received an elite junior bar, incline wedge and springboard mat protector.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gymnastics Direct (@gymnasticsdirect)

The junior bar and wedge will create additional fundamental movement opportunities for recreational and GymAbility gymnasts. The springboard mat protector will support competitive athletes as they safely work towards learning new vaults.

Having more equipment available will also allow coaches to introduce additional drills and stations into their circuits, helping to reduce the amount of time gymnasts spend waiting for their turn.

“This equipment will help our club provide safer, higher-quality training, support athlete development at every level, increase participation and create better opportunities for gymnasts to achieve their goals.”

More than gymnastics

What makes Clarence Gymsports most proud is the community it has created around the sport.

The club provides a place where children can be active, build confidence, develop resilience and form lifelong friendships. Athletes who want to pursue gymnastics further can also access a pathway that supports them in working towards the highest levels of the sport.

“Seeing children grow into confident young people, coaches and leaders is incredibly rewarding.”

Safety, inclusion, teamwork and encouragement sit at the heart of the club’s culture. These values shape the experience of its gymnasts while also helping Clarence Gymsports make a positive difference to local families and the wider community.

Friendly, active and responsible

Clarence Gymsports describes its community in three words: friendly, active and responsible.

Being friendly means helping people recognise their worth, develop confidence and learn to understand, care about and support others.

Being active means encouraging people to look after their health, build a positive relationship with physical activity and establish foundations for both sporting and everyday life skills.

Being responsible means learning to make positive long-term choices, understand the consequences of personal actions and develop a willingness to learn and embrace challenges.

These qualities extend well beyond the gym and reflect the kind of people the club hopes its participants will become.

Celebrate your own progress

Clarence Gymsports’ advice to its athletes is to remember that no two gymnastics journeys will look exactly the same:

“Every gymnast’s journey is unique, so don’t compare your progress to someone else’s. Focus on becoming the best version of yourself, celebrate the small victories and remember that setbacks are part of growth.”

By supporting athletes at every stage, Clarence Gymsports continues to create opportunities for more people to experience gymnastics, develop valuable life skills and feel part of a welcoming community.