Russian gymnasts asked to train in old Hove church but are told ‘you haven’t a prayer’

Russia’s Olympic gymnastics squad asked to train in Hove so that they could prepare for the Games this summer.

But the local club said that its gym – in a disused church – was not big enough or suitable.

Ann Martin, who runs Brighton and Hove Gymnastic Club in Newtown Road, Hove, said that her colleague Daphne Hand took the call form the Russians.

Mrs Martin said: “She said, ‘what do you need?’ And they said, ‘two floors.’ So she sent them up to Horsham.

“We haven’t got a floor. When we find talented children, we have to send them on.”

She said that the club’s lack of facilities meant that it could not train elite gymnasts.

Despite the limitations of the old St Agnes Church, the club is thriving with 700 to 800 children training there each week – sometimes more.

The club, which Mrs Martin set up 25 years ago, received good news on Thursday (19 April) with hopes raised of a new home.

Members of the Brighton and Hove City Council cabinet approved a sports facilities plan which could mean a new base for the club.

The council’s intention is to revamp the indoor area at Withdean Stadium so that it includes a purpose-built gym.

The cabinet also agreed a masterplan for Withdean Stadium which could see the gym moving within 18 months, subject to planning permission for the £3 million first phase.

Mrs Martin said: “Withdean would be wonderful. It’s a superb situation. People can get there by bus and train and people can park.

“If you’re talking about a proper size gym, you’re looking at 2,000 kids.

“At the moment the children of Brighton and Hove don’t get a fair crack of the whip.”

She said a previous plan to build a specialist gym at Blatchington Mill School fell through.

It relied on funding from the failed attempt to build a replacement leisure centre and 750 flats on the site of the King Alfred.

The reason for including a gym at Withdean was set out in a report to the council’s cabinet on Thursday.

It said: “The city’s primary gymnastics club, Brighton and Hove Gymnastic Club, operates in a converted church, St Agnes in Hove.

“Although a full gymnastics layout is provided, the facility is in poor condition and does not meet the needs of the club.

“Evidence of demand and potential for expansion of the existing operation is clear. And recognition of the need for a new purpose-built facility or a converted space to rival facilities in Crawley and Horsham has been in existence for a number of years.”

So while the club may not be host Olympic gymnasts as they prepare for the London Games, it can look forward to the possibility of a new home in the next few years.