"Our new unit at Moss Industrial Estate is perfect for us as it gives us the space to grow the Academy and invest in and store our equipment. Plus, its really accessible for the local community."
Gemma Scott
A brand new Olympic-standard gymnastics facility which first opened just a month before the first lockdown last year, has reopened at Moss Industrial Estate, on St. Helen’s Road in Leigh.
Tumbles Academy of Gymnastics, which offers fun classes and squad coaching, occupies a 5,000 sq. ft unit which has been fitted out with Olympic standard gymnastics equipment and flooring as well as a preschool gymnasium, café and party area.
Owners Gemma Scott, a former Scottish National Coach, and Donna Maclean, a former World and European Champion, have always had ambitious plans to expand the Academy and take on their very own premises.
In February 2020, after 3 ½ years based at a local high school, Hope Academy in Newton-le-Willows, they opened their own premises at Moss Industrial Estate just before Covid arrived forcing them to shut down.
The last 18 months have been a real struggle for the Academy. On top the financial pressure, one of their young full-time coaches was diagnosed with bone cancer which was a huge shock for the team.
During lockdown, classes moved online six days a week while the newly renovated facility stood empty but Gemma and Donna are really excited to be back and picking the Academy up where they left off 18 months ago and they have lots of exciting plans ahead.
Gemma said: “We are really excited to finally launch the Academy from our very own building, which is fitted out to a very high spec. Our viewing area and café never quite opened last year but we have made a few Covid adjustments and have installed a live feed so that parents can watch their children in class without having to leave their seats.
“Our new unit at Moss Industrial Estate is perfect for us as it gives us the space to grow the Academy and invest in and store our equipment. Plus, it’s really accessible for the local community. We can now focus on building the Academy and doing what we do best, inspiring people through gymnastics.
“We currently have two girls working towards British Championships in the club and we have selected 25 children to work on the British Gymnastics pathway. We have also started offering specific disability sessions and we are making some adaptations to the centre to make it more disability friendly.”
Gemma and Donna are supported by a team of ten coaches, including World Tumbling Champion, Rachael Letsche, who run a wide range of classes at the Academy, for all ages and abilities. They also offer specialist classes, such as Ninja Gymnastics and Gymfusion.
Moss Industrial Estate is owned by family-run business, George Moss & Sons, which celebrated its centenary in 2020. The Industrial Estate is home to around 100 local businesses, of varying sizes and industries.
Neill Wood, managing director of Moss Industrial Estate, said: “We are so pleased that after 18 long and challenging months, Tumbles Academy of Gymnastics is back up and running again and can look forward to a long and exciting future.
“Moss Industrial Estate has experienced a growth in leisure-based activities on site in recent years which we are really proud of because they have such a direct and positive impact on the health and wellbeing of our local community and we look forward to supporting the Academy as it grows.”
For more information about Tumbles Academy, visit www.tumbles-gymnastics.co.uk.
