A gymnastics coach from Liverpool has been nominated for a national prize for her commitment to bringing through the next generation of coaches.
Emma Roberts, 36, is an instructor for Liverpool Trampoline Gymnastics Academy and has been shortlisted in the Education category for this month’s British Gymnastics Awards.
Roberts has been a coach for nearly 20 years but only since the Covid-19 pandemic has she been a fully-fledged tutor.
And she says to be awarded the top prize would make all her efforts worthwhile.
“To win would be the icing on the cake,” she said.
“I do it because I enjoy passing on the knowledge and experience I have and I like inspiring the next generation of coaches – but to receive a big well done on that scale would mean so much. All the hard work would have paid off.
“I was made up with the nomination – really pleasantly surprised. I was sat at home and my success of the day was managing to get my little one to go down so to receive that email was very welcome.
“It means a lot because I started this journey as a tutor back in 2020 just before the lockdown, that was when I did the first initial training.
“But because of Covid and the lockdowns, I couldn’t deliver my first course until 2022, so it’s been a long time coming but I’ve loved it ever since.”
The British Gymnastics Awards are community led and about championing those who make the sport an uplifting experience for all, with more nominations than ever before coming in this year.
It is the creativity, dedication and passion from people in the sport that make gymnastics an accessible, inclusive and enjoyable sport for all.
The nominations have been judged by panels made up of British Gymnastics committee members and external panellists from across UK Sport, Gymnova, Milano, Gymaid, Youth Sport Trust, Sport England, Women in Sport, The Include Summit, Sport and Recreation Alliance, The Sport for Development Coalition and GB gymnasts.
Roberts’ love affair with gymnastics started when she was just seven years old and she was picked up by the GB squad until the age of 15, when an injury to her wrist brought her career to a halt.
She then turned her attention to coaching and has been rewarded with a nomination for the British Gymnastics Awards, with the winners set to be announced this month.
A former British champion, Roberts takes significant pride in unearthing the sport’s future stars.
“We’re in a great position to be able to have an extra bit of influence on children and young people’s lives,” she said.
“They spend a lot of time with their teachers and choose to do gymnastics and I think the sport and who teaches it can have such a huge impact on them as they grow.
“We have the opportunity to be a role model and offer young people a good journey through the sport.”
The British Gymnastics Awards celebrate those at the heart of gymnastics who create an uplifting experience for all. British Gymnastics has launched a new vision for a new era of gymnastics, learn more about Leap Without Limits here – https://www.british-gymnastics.org/vision
