Popular gymnastics centre closes while safety concerns investigated

Olympic gymnast Brinn Bevan has officially opened Easton Gymnastics Clubs new purpose built centre.Photo: Andrew Mickleburgh. (Image: Andrew Mickleburgh)

On Friday, July 19, young gymnasts and their parents arriving at Easton Sports and Leisure Centre, the home of Easton Gymnastics Club in Bawburgh Road, Bawburgh, were disappointed to find the gym was unexpectedly closed.

The sudden closure came after safety issues were found with the gym's floor track, leading the centre owners to take the decision to close the gym until further notice while the problem could be made safe. It means members of the club are having to find somewhere else to practice until further notice.

Mark Lupton, the centre manager, said they had first become concerned after people noticed the floor was making unusual noises. He said: "We had somebody come out on Friday to do a review on some of our equipment and he found that there were a few little issues with the floor track."

Mr Lupton said the centre was told the floor, which is the around the size of half a football pitch, was not safe to be used until the issue was fully identified, adding: "With the information [from the inspection] we thought we couldn't allow gymnasts to come in and use the gym from a health and safety point of view, and because the floor is a major part of the hall you can't continue to run the club while there is a faulty floor so we took the decision to close.

"We obviously don't want anybody to get hurt."

Mr Lupton said closing the gym to its 750 members, some of whom train twice a week, was not an easy decision to make but that it had to put safety first. "Most people have been very understanding because at the end of the day we want to make sure nobody gets hurt," he added.

"As of today we are in contact with the suppliers of the floor. We hope to get this resolved very quickly, as a business we've staff we employ and members who want to come and train."