Melissa Anderson is the winner of the Sport award sponsored by Sports Wales
Despite having no previous experience, Ms Anderson’s tenure as managing director and head coach of the Valleys Gymnastics Academy go from having fewer than 100 members when it opened in 2011 to meeting its three year target set by Sports Wales by reaching a membership of more than 800.
Offering all manner of physical activities to children of all ages and backgrounds, it’s all overseen by Anderson who volunteers up to 30 hours of her time a week while holding down a full-time lecturer post at Cardiff Metropolitan University and raising an 18-month-old baby.
“At Valleys Gymnastics Academy our aim is to provide physical activity opportunities to all ages. Although opportunities are predominantly gymnastics-related, we also offer a wide range of other activities including ballet, pilates, music and movement for pre-schoolers from babies to age 4, pre-school play sessions, pre-school gymnastics, multi-sports, FUNdamentals and zumba, delivering approximately 60 classes each week.
The club is in a fantastic position! Demand continues to increase for our classes; which I attribute to the skills and enthusiasm of the team we have here at VGA.
In the past 6 months we have established 8 satellite sessions in local schools and we are now in the process of working with Blaenau Gwent CBC to take over their gymnastic classes from September 2013.”
Category sponsored by Sport Wales:
