New Building
TE PUKE GYMSPORT NEW BUILDING
The Club began in 1954 and almost every family in Te Puke has had a person participate in the Club in the time since. The Club is a registered Charity. It functions through a volunteer Committee and paid employees including a part-time Centre Manager, Administrator, and approximately 16 Coaches.
Over the years, the Club has had several different homes in Te Puke including a building behind the flower shop in the high street, the Memorial War Hall, Te Puke High School and for the last 8 years, a commercial building in Station Road.
The Club functions all year round at the same level of participation and its activity is not seasonal. The Club delivers mat based gymsport and movement programmes from 9am until 8pm most days of the week. These programmes include Preschool Gym (Foundation and Fundamental Skill development), Recreational Gym (Fundamental skill development), Home School gym, Circus Arts, Fitness Fundamentals, Adult Focus on Fitness Classes, Adult Gymnastics, Boxercise, Parkour (Free Running), Trampoline, Tumbling, Men’s Competitive
and Women’s Competitive Gymnastics.
The Club also runs an extensive Parkour and Gymsport programme each school holidays and this is very well attended. The Club develops programmes that people want to
do and will continue to evolve based on the local community need.
The Club currently runs Primary, Intermediate and Secondary Schools competitions with about 550 participants each time. It also runs recreational competitions open to other local clubs from across the Bay and Waikato.
The Club has a current membership of over 400 per term (1,000 annually) and caters for ages from one year old to the elderly. It invites participants of any age, stage, ability or disability to participate. The current Club membership comes from across the Bay of Plenty region – 46% come from Te Puke, 52% from Papamoa, and the rest from Tauranga, Whakatane, and Mount Maunganui. There are approximately 1,500 other users per term through events, groups visiting and other activities.
THE NEED
The Club has been working with Western Bay District Council on the development of a new building on Centennial Park in Atuaroa Avenue, Te Puke, and has in principle been given permission to lease the land and build a facility to support the local community. The reason for the new facility is that the current building is too small and not fit for purpose. Also in July 2017, the Clubs commercial rent increased by 25% to $60,000 per year including OPEX. In addition, the existing lease agreement is due to expire in June 2019 with no right of renewal meaning that the future of the club is currently uncertain.
The Western Bay District Council has agreed in principle to a new facility being on Centennial Park, Te Puke on Atuaroa Avenue, off Jellicoe Street. The proposed location is well connected to roads in and out of the town plus has easy access from Welcome Bay, Papamoa, Mount Maunganui and Tauranga. It is also easy to get to and from Rotorua via State
Highway 33 and Whakatane via State Highway 2.
The building would be self-sufficient through a user pays model and it is not expected to require funding from Western Bay Council once operational. A realistic budget has been prepared with a contribution to the maintenance of the building planned for.
WHY IS IT GOOD FOR TE PUKE?
PROFILE
The Club would like to develop a building that the town and the region is proud of. An iconic venue that is attractive to look at, a building which the local community and visitors from
outside of the town will enjoy visiting. It will bring a high number of visitors from out of town for events throughout the year as well as weekly sessions. Our aim is to make the centre, the Bay of Plenty Regional Centre so the building will become well known across the country.
INCREASED BUSINESS
Throughout the year, events will bring new people into the town to visit the retail shops, cafes, and restaurants. They will need to stay in the area and will require support services. There is an expectation that between 5 to 10 events per year would take place.
CULTURE
The centre would contribute to a positive feeling about the town. It would be an exciting feature which would fit comfortably into the fabric of Te Puke and enhance the reasons to live there.
HEALTH IMPROVEMENT
Te Puke township will have the benefit of a venue that will support the health of the local community through the development of movement skills. The skills we teach in the early years are relevant for all stages of life.
OPPORTUNITY/ACCESSIBILITY
Te Puke residents would have many opportunities to use the building throughout their life. Parents will be able to do an activity whilst their children or grandchildren do theirs. It will have activities for all ages from babies to elderly people, for people with disabilities and special needs. Local groups such as schools, preschools, and community groups will be able to access the facility too.
There will also be an upstairs room which can be used by local community groups for them to do their activities every week. The room would be suitable for karate, judo, Pilates, yoga and any other activity suitable to use a 110sqm space. The building is accessible from Jellicoe Street so makes it easy for people to get to from all over the town and the wider region.
DEVELOP SKILLS FOR OTHER SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES
As a sport that develops basic movement patterns and fundamental skills, we will be able to support other sports and activities such as rugby, netball, soccer etc with activity to help develop the skills required on the pitch, and court. These can complement the work done by coaches of these other sport codes.
PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES
With this high-profile facility, there will be opportunities for the promotion of local business and reciprocal arrangements. We look forward to connecting with the local business networks to see how we can work together.
To ask a question or learn more call Sarah Elliott on 021 829 227 or email committee@tepukegymsport.co.nz