ROBERTSON GYMNASTICS CLUB - HISTORY

CLUB

Robertson Gymnastics Club commenced in 1991. The Club was created as an after school activity by its founder and current president, Mark Lowe. A request from five Robertson State School Year 7 students with an interest to extend their gymnastic skills resulted in the first class using all the available equipment - one mini tramp, one old canvas high jump landing mat and an ancient, tattered scatter mat. The concrete floor ensured that you had to be accurate. Within six weeks, 30 children were attending, growing to 60 after three months. The children waited up to ten minutes to have a go at each activity.

For the next nine years, the Club operated in school undercover areas, ovals, flat pieces of ground, the preschool and at times, in various classrooms. It grew in membership to an average of 250, became incorporated, employed more staff, started new programs and had a number of gymnasts picked to represent Australia (two trampolinists achieving a Top 20 placing at World Championships). Every day, all equipment had to be carried to its area, set up, and then progressively packed away in the afternoons. Classes were weather affected and had to stop at 5:30p.m. as in Winter it was dark by then. In Winter, classes finished packing up in total darkness!! The outdoor trampoline equipment was often vandalised and had a “community watch” on it, but still suffered a lot of abuse. Generally, there was a lot of equipment wear and tear due to its daily movement up and down the slopes of the school. All programs were constantly weather affected, yet even at this time, it still took up to a year at times to progress through the Club’s waiting list and become a member. High coaching standards and dogged creativity and innovation of service delivery meant that thousands of children learnt and successfully competed from this difficult environment. However everyday, the constant incentive remained that one day, a hall would exist and these difficulties would be a distant memory.

It took ten long years of constant struggle and effort from a dedicated team (it was planned to take five!!), but eventually “the Hall” became a reality, a dream that had seemed impossible and so distant was now concrete ..... literally!!

The first class was taken by Emma Masters, a founding member of the Club who was by now, one of the Club’s senior coaches. The children only had a single tumble run on which to train – but it was great!! It showered rain and all you saw were smiling faces!!

In 2000 (& again in 2003), Robertson Gymnastics Club was named the Queensland Club of the Year, recognising the progressions and achievements of the previous ten years. With the updating of the Trampoline equipment (Euros.), the venue has now evolved to achieve its goal of providing an international standard training facility. Nine members of the Club have achieved National selection for international competition with two top ten placings at World Championship level. The Club’s most decorated gymnast Carly Ward, who can attest to the trying conditions for most of her training career, was selected for four World Championship teams and represented Australia on numerous occasions having a highest international ranking of nine. Two of our staff now perform in USA with Cirque Du Soleil and other gymnasts now perform professionally around the world. The Club is now one of the highest performing in Trampoline Sports and Sports Acrobatics in Australia. Membership hovers around 800 which makes the Club one of the top 5% of sporting organisations nationally.

However, today, many of the older Robertson gymnasts still really enjoy coming to training during wet and windy weather, because now they can ....... with walls and a roof….. and lights!!

FACILITY

Project History – Robertson Activities Centre

The concept of the Robertson Activities Centre (The Hall) was devised in 1989 at a meeting of the Robertson State School P & C Association. Fund raising, project investigations and planning commenced. Steering committees were established. The same year, Robertson Gymnastics Club commenced. The club had humble beginnings but a vision for the future was formed, a vision where this facility would service all school needs and provide unprecedented opportunity for children on the southside of Brisbane to participate in all forms of Gymnastics Sports in an international standard facility. A three-way partnership was formed where the collective resources of each organisation would be pooled in order to achieve the greatest possible outcome. In 1994, The Robertson Activities Hall Committee contracted Peddle Thorpe Architects to research and design The Centre on the preferred site approved by Education Queensland. Approximately $50 000 was expended at this time. A complaint from a (1) neighbour forwarded after the closure of objections resulted in a directive from Education Queensland to relocate to another approved site. The new sloping site required a complete redesign costing the project in excess of $60 000.00. Architect Donald Tame was contracted. The new design required the amenities, kitchen and canteen facilities to be constructed underneath the performance hall. In the original design, the plan linked the facility into the adjoining toilets and tuckshop. These existing amenities were to be upgraded to link into the building and service patrons needing the amenities. The remoteness of the second site required that new toilet, kitchen and canteen areas were included in the new design. The advantage to Education Queensland is that the toilets and a Music Block area, desperately needed to support the school’s continual growth, could be integrated into the new construction, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to stand alone buildings.

Ten years of enormous hardship and dedication from a core organisational team followed. A huge wave of support was mobilised to overcome the “red tape” (eg. government legislation had to be altered), monies fund raised (Fund Raising Committee - over $750 000 achieved plus a $300 000 loan), grant applications (5 successful - $500 000), building design (Building Committee with assistance of three architectural firms), Construction (Construction Committee managed and volunteer assisted) and equipment installation (Gym Club Staff, parents and volunteers).

The impossible became possible ....

Term 4 of 1999 completed the evolution of the Robertson Activities Centre. On 17 October 1999, Stage 1 of The Robertson Activities Centre passed inspection and was handed over for occupation. This ended Phase 1 of a 10 year project. At the time of construction, cost increases / underestimates required the deletion of many items which could be added at a later date. The car park was one of those items.

In 2003, a Grant submission from SCISS, a program that supports the innovative usage of State School facilities, for a car park / ring road for the Centre was successful. As a result, the last massive hurdle in the transformation of an arid landscape into a World Class facility will be completed.

This will complete Stage 3 of the original five stages of development. There is still much to do and improvements to make, but there are still many of us who remember what it was like to be the Club without a venue. Thanks to all who have assisted in the progression of this project to its current status. Dreams can become tomorrow’s reality.