By leading, supporting, and inspiring everyone involved in the gymnastics, we strive to support and protect all our members by providing comprehensive insurance, best practice, training and guidance. Working with you, we can create safe, welcoming, and rewarding environment that will enable your club to flourish, offering everyone who shares our passion for gymnastics the chance to succeed.
As the UK’s official governing body, we are passionate about ensuring a lasting legacy for gymnastics and creating more opportunities for people to take part, working closely with our community of members and partners who make it all possible.
Welcome
Whether you are just getting started or are already involved in our exciting sport, we are here to help, support and advise you at every stage of your membership. As a membership organisation you are the lifeblood of the sport and as a member you become part of our community that shares your passion for the sport.
Our pledge to you is that we will work with you to help you achieve your ambitions in gymnastics, whatever they are. We will:
• Respond constructively to your queries and requests • Keep communications clear and precise • Treat you with courtesy, fairness, and respect
For more information about British Gymnastics membership and benefits, please contact our Club Support team on 0345 129 7129* or email customersupport@british-gymnastics.org
* Calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes
Our Commitment to You British Gymnastics is here to help and support great clubs. Being part of the British Gymnastics community gives you access to:
• A passionate community, helping to share and develop best practice • Support to create exciting environments that are safe and fun for all • Specialised operational support to help you get started and thrive and grow • Access to professional partners and support including legal support and Health & Safety specialists • Specialist comprehensive insurance portfolio for you, your workforce, your club officers, and your members, giving everyone peace of mind • Access to the British Gymnastics Club Hub to support your knowledge and learning • Access to the British Gymnastics Marketing Hub to help you promote and drive your brand • Opportunities to perform and compete locally, regionally, nationally, and beyond • The tools and framework to create a safe sport environment • Ongoing CPD opportunities to support the learning for your coaching and operational team • A strong partnership with the national governing body for gymnastics, helping you to attract members, workforce and apply for external funding for key plans and initiatives • A dedicated Club Line with access to a team of Customer Support advisors to provide quick and exclusive support with any enquiries
Club Registration
Whether you’re a brand new gymnastics club or you have been active for some time, your annual Club Registration brings you all of the benefits of British Gymnastics membership in one easy payment.
As a registered British Gymnastics club, you will have access to a vast range of advice and support covering best practice in club development, education, safeguarding and access to competition and festivals. Your registration also provides your club, its officers, employees, and volunteers with liability insurance cover for their activities should they be faced with legal claims as a result of their actions or decisions.
British Gymnastics represents the sport of gymnastics and its clubs with help from government agencies and international federations. To view our Membership Rules please click here.
Useful links to get started If you are new to the British Gymnastics community, this document will guide you through the process of setting up and registering with British Gymnastics. Many of these steps may require additional development as your club grows which British Gymnastics will be able to support you with once you are an active member. To help the first steps of your club’s journey with us, here are some of the essential links to help you get registered and start benefitting from the wide range of support British Gymnastics can offer:
For those with experience of running gymnastics clubs and businesses, there is a quick checklist to see if you are ready to register your gymnastics club with British Gymnastics : Starting up a Club Quick Checklist.
How do you envisage your club and what it has to offer? This will determine the development, goals and operations of your club. This is your club’s identity!
What do you want your club to be in the local community?
How do you want your club to deliver its service to the local community?
What is your vision of what you want the club to become?
Where are you now?
What are your short, medium and long-term plans and goals?
Finding your place
Market research will help you to understand your club’s competitors and how your club will fit into your community.
• What activities / programmes / disciplines / opportunities will your club offer?
• Who can join your club? Is there demand?
• When will your activities be available?
• How competitive is your pricing?
Your local and national support
Explore the options for developing friendly relationships with other businesses or organisations that will help your club grow.
• School or local authority partnerships
• Other after-school or gymnastics clubs
• National Governing Body (British Gymnastics)
• Sport England Club Matters
• Sport Northern Ireland
Write a club development plan (business plan)
Writing a club development plan will help you assess the feasibility and timescale of what you hope to achieve. Some useful places to get you starter are here:
Club officers for British Gymnastics club registration
• Head Coach
• Club Secretary
• Club welfare officer
• DBS Verifier (England and Wales)
Further information can be found in the “Club Roles” tab.
Legal structure for your club
Depending on the size, activities, and funding for your club, you will need to consider the best legal status for your club. Examples of this include becoming a registered charity or a limited company.
A club’s committee is responsible for the overall management of the club. The committee must act in the best interests of the club, driving the club forwards with decisions that will achieve the club’s aims and vision.
Will you need a committee? If so, what committee roles do you need in your club and what qualifications are required? Roles could include:
• Chairperson
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Welfare officer
• Head coach
• Volunteers coordinator
• Fundraising officer
This is not an exhaustive list, your club may require additional roles.
Workforce employment status
At this stage you may need to start considering your coaches’ and club support roles’ employment status.
British Gymnastics can help you with people management once your club is fully registered, but to get you started the government can provide some guidance:
Volunteers are a powerful way to support your club.
The British Gymnastics Volunteer Officer will be able to help you with this when you are registered but if you are already starting to consider developing volunteers here are some useful places to start:
• Discuss with the facility owner or manager all the costs (including storage costs or other “hidden” costs) to hiring their facilities and establish the rights and responsibilities of both parties
• They may have a contract they require users to sign which you should read carefully
• You will need to know who is responsible for building health and safety, that there is an in-date Fire Risk assessment, who is responsible for the provision of first aid and first aid supplies and other health and safety matters
Equipment storage
Does your facility have storage space if needed? If storage is available, who will be responsible for setting up and taking down the equipment and the daily safety checks?
If you are using the facility’s own equipment you will additionally need to establish how the equipment is maintained and checked and who is responsible for any accidental damage in use or in storage.
Club privacy policy
A privacy policy is a statement that discloses how information gathered by the club will be used, disclosed, and managed.
When you register your club with British Gymnastics, you will be asked for your club privacy policy. It fulfils a legal requirement to protect a customer or client's privacy.
Understanding the law
The Data Protection Act states that those who record and process personal information must be open about how the information is used and must follow the eight principles of ‘good information handling’.
Here’s some further guidance and information on understanding data law:
In order to prepare a Club Privacy Policy, it is useful to complete a Register of Processing Activities (RoPA) which will help you to assess what data your club needs to collect and store from its members and identify the purpose for the data held and who will access that data and if it will be shared.
Here are some British Gymnastics resources to help you start developing your own club privacy policy:
You will be asked to select your club preferences that you would like to apply to your club for registering members and coaches in order to administrate the British Gymnastics membership process for members joining your club.
British Gymnastics can collect data on behalf of the club from your members when they register with British Gymnastics and this will be shared with the club, or the club can collect the data themselves and members will only provide data requested by British Gymnastics for British Gymnastics use following the British Gymnastics Privacy Policy British Gymnastics Privacy Policy.
Generating income
As you develop your Club Development Plan, you will need to identify the sources of income to support your club and the financial sustainability of your club.
• British Gymnastics requires a club to have a minimum of 10 members, but you will need to think about the minimum number of participants you need to make your club feasible
• What does your club fee structure need to be to generate the income required for your club to operate successfully?
• Think about any other sources of income your club may be able to benefit from. Consider things like club merchandise, parties, commercial venue hire or even a café
Starting up a club takes some investment and planning, so it is a good idea to explore what options are available to source the funds needed in establishing a gymnastics club.
Are you eligible for any start-up grants or funding, or will you be applying for a business loan or Club Capital
Planning for your start-up costs
There are always start up costs to consider when starting a club.
• Think about any purchase, rent or hire costs of your space including any deposits, building works, renovation or redecoration needed
• Equipment purchase and servicing
• British Gymnastics offers a wide range of qualification courses. Work out if your coaching team will need to upgrade their qualifications with any courses and the associated cost of the course (and increased British Gymnastics membership if it requires upgrading)
Understand your running costs
Keeping your club running long term will no doubt mean running costs must be considered when planning.
• Facility running costs or hire costs of non-designated space (rent, rates, utilities, broadband etc)
• Workforce costs
• What are the administrative costs are there? Think about things like tax, PAYE, insurance, or memberships?
• British Gymnastics annual club registration fees range from £110 up to £365 based on members linked to your club. Don't forget your first registration year up to 30th September is free.
Budget, cashflow and financial planning
Financial planning will be an important part of your development plan and also help you to review the progress and security of your club.
• How will you manage your finances? Who can help you?
• Include your financial plan in your initial business plan /club development plan
• Schedule regular reviews to keep track of the financial progress of your club
Club Secretary / Club Manager
Requirements
• Minimum of bronze membership
• Minimum age of 18
• Will be given club access rights to GymNet
This is the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the club and the club’s interactions with us. Whether voluntary or paid, coach or administrator, this role is vital in ensuring the club runs smoothly and is accessing all the support and help available from British Gymnastics. This person may be active in your coaching team, someone who is part of your committee or could be a parent who is willing to volunteer, but this is a vital role as it is the initial point of contact between the club and our support team.
Club Welfare Officer
Requirements
• Minimum of bronze membership
• Minimum age of 18
• Current criminal record check (recognised by British Gymnastics)
• Current safeguarding certificate (recognised by British Gymnastics)
• Current Time to Listen certificate
• Cannot be in the role of head coach (or related to) or a key member of the coaching team
The safety and wellbeing of gymnasts are always the top priority. Although the responsibility for safeguarding falls on everyone, a critical element in safeguarding is the club’s Welfare Officer; an individual who is responsible for safeguarding and promoting welfare of young people within the club. Their key roles are to guide and support the club by:
• Responding to child protection and poor practice concerns
• Providing support and advice in the implementation of procedures that safeguard and promote the welfare of children
• Assisting the club to more be child-focussed on its activities, e.g. involving children in decision making processes
An individual who has a more limited involvement in coaching can take on the role. However, the role cannot be taken on by a key member of the coaching team or member of her/his immediate family.
The ideal person could be a parent or other volunteer with professional experience in child protection and/or safeguarding e.g. police officer, social worker, teacher, nursery nurse etc, or anyone willing to take on the role and attend the relevant training
• Minimum of Level 2 British Gymnastics coaching qualification
• Current criminal record check (recognised by British Gymnastics)
• Current safeguarding certificate (recognised by British Gymnastics)
• Current Positive Coaching award
The Head Coach is the person in your club who manages the coaching team and is likely to be responsible for the activities and disciplines delivered. They may be the only coach in a smaller club or could be discipline specific in larger clubs. Typical responsibilities of a Head Coach include implementing new types of gymnastics, managing new qualification and learning opportunities for coaches, assistant coaches and helpers; it may also be the role of this person to help to plan that with the club and the coaching team.
Remember that a Head Coach must hold a minimum of UKCC Level 2 gymnastics qualification and should be helping to make sure the club is delivering great, consistent gymnastics. British Gymnastics offer a wealth of coaching courses to support coaches and develop skills. Explore our coaching courses.
DBS Verifier (England and Wales)
Requirements
• Minimum of bronze membership
• Minimum age of 18
• Can be a member of the coaching team or can be a willing / reliable volunteer
Recommended
• Ideally, this role will be undertaken by the welfare officer and another nominated person
DBS stands for Disclosure and Barring Service and is the organisation that deals with criminal records checking for England and Wales.
The DBS verifier is the person who is responsible for processing DBS applications. They will check the proof of ID for the applicants and sign a declaration that the application is genuine and truthful in all areas. The role holder will need a minimum of British Gymnastics Club Administrator membership.
The Home Country equivalent for Northern Ireland is AccessNI. In Northern Ireland, this role is responsible for ensuring any AccessNI applications are authentic and represent the person applying for them.
I need support
For any further information on Club Roles, or to clarify any of these details, please contact our dedicated Club Support team on 0345 129 7129* or email customersupport@british-gymnastics.org. * Calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes
Preparing to register
• Consider your club vision, values, aim and objectives
• Prepare for British Gymnastics minimum requirements for your club
• Your club is created on our system called GymNet
• You receive an email from Customer Support to invite you to access your Club Account on GymNet (via your personal GymNet account)
• Complete your Club Preferences sections for Payments* and Communications**, Additional Data Capture, Privacy notice and Club logo / description. After the preferences have been set please go to Club Management and Club Registration to complete the online club declaration***
• Wales: Clubs in Wales will be contacted by Welsh Gymnastics once you have submitted your registration form
Register your club for free
Because you are a new club we will waiver the registration fee of £110 for this first membership year up to 30th September so please do not pay the charge that will appear in your checkout, instead please call or email us to update this for you.
Enjoy the support available from British Gymnastics in your next steps
• Clubs in England and Wales: the DBS verifier will be receiving an email link from GBG shortly to the GBG Online disclosures so you can be set up as the clubs online DBS verifier
• Clubs in Northern Ireland will receive a Welcome email from their home nation officers
• Club secretaries can now access GymNet to manage club members
• Club officers will soon be able to access the Club Support Hub for a range of guidance including the next stage of preparations that may need to be considered to prepare the club to deliver gymnastics
*Payment preferences: You will be asked to select your payment preferences for club Gymnasts and also for club Coaches. If you choose for membership to be paid to British Gymnastics directly upon registration, the club will have no liability for paying British Gymnastics for its members each year (Club Membership would still apply). Alternatively individuals can renew their membership each year with British Gymnastics but pay their membership to the club where the fee will sit in the club’s GymNet basket for the members’ yearly membership fees. Your payment preference can be different for the Gymnast category and the Coach category. Please note that club officers fall into the same as group as gymnasts. ** Communication preferences: You will be asked to select your communication preferences. Your choices will influence what information British Gymnastics sends you – for example updates on legislation during the Covid-19 pandemic were sent out by email to clubs as well as being published on our website and social media, but if clubs had not opted to receive emails from British Gymnastics, they would have to find the information themselves or remember to check British Gymnastics platforms. *** Club declaration: Requires you to declare that you have the authority to accept the terms of membership on behalf of your club, that you wish for your club to become a British Gymnastics club member, that you will abide by the Club membership rules and regulations. British Gymnastics membership rules: British Gymnastics Standards of Conduct for Registered Clubs Membership Rules