Two very contrasting worlds collided and came into unison on the evening of Saturday 08th June 2013, in the Kettering Conference Centre.
The occasion was the British Gymnastics Annual Awards Evening and a party of Coaches and staff from Lewisham based Ladywell Gymnastics Club found themselves sitting amidst the great and the good of the UK gymnastics world - including several members of the Bronze Medal winning Team GB Men’s Olympic Gymnastics Team - as nominees in the Club of the Year Category.
When your Club Mission Statement reads, “To enrich lives through Gymnastics” and your ethos is an open door to all, irrespective of race, creed, ethnicity or impairment - simply being nominated for such a prestigious award by your sport’s National Governing Body is a huge, and somewhat unexpected honour.
Early in the proceedings, Club Manager and Head Coach Shirley Callaghan was presented with an ‘Award of Merit’ for her prolonged contribution to gymnastics; a sport she has been involved in for almost thirty years.
As the excitement built towards the end of the ceremony, the Ladywell contingent were very relaxed as they don’t really see themselves as award winners, so you can imagine the shock and delight as their name was called out as recipients of the coveted Club of the Year Award.
Club Manager Shirley rightly states that this award is the culmination of many years of concerted effort by many people both past and present during the Club’s forty seven year history, and she wishes to dedicate to and share the award with everyone who has ever helped the Club get where it stands today.
