Edinburgh University’s gymnastics team has opened doors to the sport for many people who hadn’t previously thought about stepping foot on a sprung floor.
They offer training sessions across multiple different disciplines, five days a week, and they have a dedicated trampoline society too.
The gym’s warm environment is open to anyone, regardless of their skill level. Even if you’re not a student at the university, you can still train and perform with the team.
Strength, skill, and mind combined
39-year-old Dewald Oosthuysen joined the gym after his previous club shut down. He picked up the sport three years ago and has felt massive improvements across the board, even stating that he’s in better shape now than he was in his 20s.
“The absolute main thing is it just helps me manage my ADHD so much better than not having it,” he stated.
“My training kind of coincides with my ADHD, and people around me have mentioned that I'm so much better when I have been training, or I have something to train for.”
The benefits of getting involved with a gymnastics club like the one at Edinburgh University certainly go beyond just the physical aspect of the sport.
Matthew Hale, an ex-student turned Russian language teacher has remained a part of the club even after graduating. He didn’t exactly know what he was getting into when he first signed up. It’s fair to say now, though, that gymnastics is a large part of the 24-year-old’s life.
He now has a Level 1 coaching qualification from Scottish Gymnastics and earns part of his living through teaching gymnastics to people who were in the same position as him not too long ago.
Hale reflects, “It was really like sort of some blind faith because I never realised I could have done any of the stuff that I did when I started. And then I got into it and I really liked it.”
“The community was super beginner-friendly,” he added. “I think there are probably more beginners than people that have been doing gymnastics for a long time. And as a coach now, I see almost every week we've got at least someone new trying, if not several new people trying.”
A new challenge, a new community
For those that are considering becoming a part of the adult gymnastics world, your motivation doesn’t have to be based on wanting to perform in front of a crowd or coaching others. It could be as simple as wanting to learn how to do a backflip (back somersault).
Charlie Hunt joined the sport in September through conversation at the university Freshers fair.
“I was just walking along in Freshers’ week, and I was stopped by Tilly, who's a member of the team. She was holding a sign and she said ‘Do you want to learn how to do a backflip?’ And I was like, ‘Well, yeah, obviously I want to learn how to do it.’"
He admittedly couldn’t master the trick within one taster session – something that the university team also offers outside of their traditional beginning of term recruiting period. But Charlie kept coming back and is now a regular attendee at the club’s classes.
“It's something to look forward to every week; like, I know that twice a week I've got something that I really enjoy that is not too far away.
“Especially when I'm bogged down in exams or it's a particularly heavy week for work or whatever, it's nice to think about the fact that, okay, on these two days, I've got 3 hours which is dedicated to just switching off from academics and just getting stuck into something else. So I think that is positive for my mental health.
“The sense of community that comes with it [has been a big plus],” added Hunt.
“Because that has been really key for me and not something that I sort of necessarily thought about when going along to the taster session.”
Getting involved with a brand-new sport as an adult can be quite daunting, but the message has been clear from everyone at the university team: you won’t regret it.
“I think it's such a great sport,” Oosthuysen said. “I don't think there are many other sports where you're so involved with every aspect of yourself, and the skills and the benefits of it, especially as you’re getting older. If you're 30 and above, this will only benefit you going forwards.”
Find out more
- Edinburgh University Gymnastics Club
- Edinburgh Uni Gymnastics Club - Instagram
- Home - Scottish Gymnastics
Credit: PSB Photography
