After a five-year hiatus, Edinburgh Leisure will once again be holding their annual gymnastics display at the new £47m state-of-the-art Meadowbank Sports Centre, which reopened in July 2022 after a major refurbishment.
Now in its 16th year, over 300 gymnasts, and cheerleaders from six Edinburgh Leisure venues, will be coming together to delight audiences with their annual display at the sports venue on Sunday, 11 December 2022.
Gymnastics Development Officer Dorothy McQueen said: “Gymnastics is a great way to provide a healthy and active lifestyle. They have many benefits and help children to gain strength, stamina, balance, coordination, flexibility as well as self-confidence.
“This non-competitive gymnastics’ event gives the children with Edinburgh Leisure’s coaching programme the opportunity to showcase what they have been working so hard on throughout the year. In addition, it allows them to see performances of all levels and inspires them to reach for the stars, or maybe even that gold, silver or bronze medal in the future.”
As well as featuring over 23 performances from Edinburgh Leisure gymnastics, there will also be special guest appearances from clubs across the region, including City of Edinburgh, Ibex and Cheer Evolution.
Tickets cost £5 each and all spectators, 5 years and over, require a ticket for entry. Participating gymnasts do not require a ticket.
Under 5s tickets are free but they will not be allocated a seat.
Tickets are available for either the morning or afternoon session and can be bought from Ticket Source – https://bit.ly/3V5KEdS
Gymnastics coaching teaches the basics of floor, vault, beam, and bar skills from Primary 1 upwards before progressing to a higher class.
It is just one of the 12 sports coached across 17 venues in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Leisure’s coaching programme helps children to develop new skills, improve their agility and grow confidence. And for pre-schoolers, Edinburgh Leisure offers Gym Nippers, from those toddlers who are walking.
For more information on gymnastics’ classes and other coaching opportunities at Edinburgh Leisure, get inspired by visiting:
Thanks to funding from the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Leisure were able to bring back a summer of fun safely to their venues across this city and supported 126 children and families living on low incomes to get active and enjoy their summer.
The Scottish Government released funding to local authorities across Scotland to help address the negative impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the health and wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland.
The priority for this funding was to provide opportunities that allowed children and young people to socialise and reconnect with peers, get active and most importantly have fun, during the summer.
Edinburgh Leisure offered parents or guardians, living on a low income and wanted their child to have the opportunity to take part in fun, engaging and exciting sports this summer to apply for funded places.
Spaces were available on Edinburgh Leisure’s swimming, gymnastics, dance, and tennis programmes, with no cost to the family applying. The coaching programmes took place in a variety of venues across the city, at various dates, with some one-day sessions and some full-week activity programmes.
Edinburgh Leisure also offered 320 spaces for families to attend their AquaDash Extreme and Clip n Climb sessions.
Families who were eligible for the programme included children who receive school uniform and meal grants, care experienced children, young carers, children whose families are in receipt of Universal Credit and children supported by a child’s plan.
Tommy George, Community Development Manager at Edinburgh Leisure, said: “For many families, finances are really tight and getting involved in activities during the holidays can be prohibitive due to cost.
“Thanks to funding from the City of Edinburgh Council, however, we were able to support families living on low incomes to ‘Get Into Summer’ by getting active, learn key skills, build confidence and esteem, as well as having fun, in a safe environment.”
Edinburgh Leisure also provided a free football programme for young people from S1 to S6 to take part in and a weekly free ‘Sport on the Beach’ session at Portobello for primary school-aged children.
While COVID-19 travel restrictions mean that many of us will be having staycations this year, Edinburgh Leisure has their own passport for a summer of fun for your children and the family.
With the summer holidays approaching, the city’s biggest sports and leisure provider, Edinburgh Leisure, is bringing back the summer fun safely to their centres. Whether you are looking for a one-off activity for the family to enjoy, or some fast-track lessons to help make up for lost time, Edinburgh Leisure has it covered.
For gymnastics and aqua camps, children can be booked in for a day or for the whole week. Early drop-offs and late pick-ups are available.
A must for anyone who enjoys water, at the Aqua Camp, children from the age of 7 years can enjoy a variety of pool activities whilst working towards recognised Scottish Swimming and Royal Life Saving Society awards.
Little gymnasts from Primary 1+ will be entertained by Edinburgh Leisure’s coaches with activities including technique practice, stretching, and conditioning, vault and bar sessions into Tumbles’ foam pits, beam sessions, coaching the coaches, learning how to judge, and working on a routine.
And with climbing set to feature for the first time at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, inspire them with the adventure and climbing camps at EICA Ratho. If your child is between 8-14 years old and new to climbing, the EICA’s week-long Adventure Camp brings together thrilling indoor and outdoor activities including climbing, Clip ‘n Climb, and abseiling.
For older children between 10-17 years, and more experienced climbers looking to get outdoors, Edinburgh Leisure’s Rock Camp combines bouldering and indoor sessions with outdoor ‘trad’ and sport climbing at some of Central Scotland’s most renowned crags.
And for children looking for some sports coaching lessons, there is lots of choice across the city whether your child wants to try something new, or just enjoy more of their favourite classes. Coaching sessions are available in tennis, swimming, gymnastics, diving, trampoline, climbing and dance.
And new for this year, is Swim Diving and Fun and Deep-Water Swimming and Fun sessions.
In Swim Diving and Fun, swimmers will learn how to shallow dive for swimming starts, this includes push and glide skills, handstands, surface dives and more. In Deep Water Swimming and Fun, the coaches cover the fun things everyone loves to do in deep water and how to keep safe near water. Being underwater is a lot of fun and there will be games and activities to help swimmers improve their underwater skills.
Also in the pool, there will be some Summer Diving session on the diving boards at the Commie Pool or for 9–14-year-olds, they can book into the pool with their friends for Edinburgh Leisure’s Junior Swim sessions.
And teens can also stay active in the holidays with the NRG Zone Gym Camps for S1 – 15-year-olds. With full access to Edinburgh Leisure’s well-equipped gyms, Edinburgh Leisure’s trained instructors will be on-hand to coach correct technique and use of equipment.
Gym access at any time accreditation is granted after completion of Edinburgh Leisure’s 5-day camp. Keep an eye on Edinburgh Leisure’s website for more information including how to book. It’s free to junior members but costs £21 for non-members.
And if you are looking for family activities, Edinburgh Leisure has lots of choices for the family to enjoy together and to burn off surplus energy.
The very first in Scotland, Edinburgh Leisure’s AquaDash and new AquaDash Extreme at the Royal Commonwealth Pool is a fantastic inflatable playground on water. Fun-seekers will slide, climb, and bounce their way through the thrilling obstacles, beating each one and racing friends and family.
Or take the experience to new heights with AquaDash Extreme, with its awesome addition of double slides from the 3m or 5m dive platforms. Spaces are popular, so make sure you book well in advance. Booking goes live 28 days before for each available session so ensure you check Edinburgh Leisure’s website regularly.
And Clip ‘n Climb at the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena will have the family reaching new heights with 15 climbing elements providing a range of features and levels suitable for children and adults. And it is suitable for beginners.
There’s also a Family Climb Taster session at the EICA. Even if you’ve never climbed before, this 90-minute taster session is for you. Children must be 4 years+ with at least 1 adult 18 years+ in the group for up to 3 children, or 2 adults 18 year+ in the group for up to 4 children. Maximum of 4 children per session.
To find out more about the activities and book online, visit:
Edinburgh Leisure is looking to recruit individuals with a passion for coaching to help support the growth of their successful gymnastics programme at various venues throughout Edinburgh Leisure.Continue reading A springboard to success with Edinburgh Leisure
Gracemount Leisure Centre has a new state-of-the-art gymnastics sprung floor. The 12m x 12m carpeted floor is the same type as that used in the Rio 2016 Olympics and will be used for the World Championships and all British Gymnastics events.Continue reading Gymnasts: spring into action!
Edinburgh Leisure and Active Schools teamed up again to stage Gymfest, a celebration of the city’s young gymnasts, at Broughton High School yesterday. And with financial support from Active City the annual display reached new heights – quite literally! A wide range of gymnasts from across the city took part in the Broughton spectacular – from enthusiastic new dancers and fun gymnasts (some performing in public for the first time) to top young athletes who already participate in competitions – and the packed audience was entertained from start to finish by some spectacular performances. Given the high standards throughout the afternoon it was fitting that all the participants received medals, so take a bow:
