New gymnastics centre for East Gippsland

The East Gippsland Gymnastics Centre will be vaulted into a new location with the Victorian Government’s announcement of $800,000 in funding to contribute to the development of a new facility. 

Mayor Cr John White welcomed Thursday’s funding announcement, saying it was a great day for the gymnastics club. 

“The funding gives this significant new project life and is great news,” Cr White said.

The new gymnastic centre will be based at the Lucknow Recreation Reserve, complementing and sitting beside the existing squash and table tennis centre. The total project cost will be $1.8 million and is funded by Council, State Government and the East Gippsland Gymnastics Club. 

The Mayor said that new dedicated gymnastics facility will deliver outstanding benefits for the local community.

“Gymnastics in East Gippsland has grown over 300 per cent in the last five years and the development of a new purpose-built facility will accommodate this growth. The club consistently has long wait lists and this new facility will give members of the community an opportunity to participate in their choice of physical activity,” Cr White said. 

“The club is strong, well-run and offers wonderful sporting opportunities for our community. Council is pleased to have worked with the club to gain the additional funding and looks forward to working with them for the next stages of the project.”

East Gippsland Gymnastics Club Manager, Marie Miles was equally pleased with the funding announcement. 

“To receive the funding means East Gippsland will, at last, have a facility that is appropriate for the sport we are teaching. Gymnasts need a certain type of space and equipment to learn and train progressively,” Ms Miles said.

“We have been operating very well with limited hours but with a new facility we will be able to offer weekend classes, competitions, and a greater variety of sports including ninja, trampolining and tumbling.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to build a facility that is designed to suit our unique sport. We would like to thank the Council for seeing the need for a gymnastics facility and for working with us for many years to bring this to fruition.”

The new 1,000 square metre building will be purpose built for gymnastics with the predominant amount of floor space being allocated to the necessary equipment for participation in the sport. The building will also feature:

The facility is due to be completed by early 2022. 

The Government also announced on Thursday funding contributions for the WORLD Sporting Precinct ($500,000) and the Lakes Entrance Foreshore Park Stage 1 ($250,000). 

The Lakes Entrance Foreshore Park will create a location where young people of all ages and abilities are able to play in a safe, enjoyable, and challenging environment that inspires creativity and encourages physical activity in a central location.

Stage one of this project will be the design and construction of both nature play and younger children play elements. This younger child play area will be fenced to increase the safety to these children. Stage one will be completed by December 2021, will cost $375,000 and is jointly funded by Government and Council. 

The $500,000 contributed by the Government for the WORLD Sporting Precinct will be used to fund part of the netball component of the project.