Official Opening 1st December 2006

Cmdr Michael Saunders Watson and Olympic gymnast, Miss Jaime Moore will unveil the new Northampton Trampoline Centre this Friday, 1st December 2006.

  Up to 400 guests will be present on Friday including: England and Saints player Ben Cohen, Keith Barwell & Bruce Reihana (Saints RFC), David Cardoza & Tony Clarke (Northampton Town FC), David Ripley (Northants Cricket), East Midlands Regional Director of Sport England Anne Rippon, Sir Hereward and Lady Wake, representatives from Sport England, UK Sport, British Gymnastics, English Gymnastics, English Institute of Sport, local MP's, Mayors and Councillors as well as staff, friends and supporters of Northamptonshire Trampoline Gymnastics Academy (NTGA) and Northamptonshire Association of Youth Clubs (NAYC).

Celebrations start at 2pm and will include speeches by Mr John Whittaker (NAYC) and Harvey Smith & Danny Creedon (NTGA), a short trampoline demonstration by British Champions James Higgins and Yasmin Gumbs, followed by Damien Walters and his talented showmen. Finally, will come the unveiling of the plaque and the cutting of the ribbon to reveal the long awaited Northampton Trampoline Centre. Further demonstrations by NTGA, members with disabilities, community members and competitive members will take place in the new trampoline centre.

Harvey Smith, who has had the responsibility of managing the project, said “I gave up a management job with local company, AES Control Systems, last year in order to run this project. Personally it was a brave step for me to make, to leave a well established job and take a big pay cut - however, I feel completely satisfied that all the hard work and effort has been very worthwhile and I am very happy that we have created a safe environment that will be enjoyed and used by many children and adults, including people with disabilities”.

The Northampton Trampoline Centre is a training venue and space is somewhat limited so it is envisaged the hundreds of guests invited to the opening celebrations will need to take turns to see the new facility!

Tracy Whittaker-Smith who heads up the Academy has talked for years about having a trampoline centre in Northampton , she said “it has taken almost 30 years to be in the position the Northamptonshire Trampoline Gymnastics Academy is today. Success does not happen over night. A dedicated team has put in 1,000's of voluntary hours, working 24/7 and making sacrifices over a great number of years. Blood, sweat and many tears have been spilt to build what the Academy is today, a financially, self-sufficient, sustainable and successful club. The club are extremely proud of their invested time, effort and continued achievement. I would personally like to thank Northamptonshire Association of Youth Clubs, British Gymnastics, English Gymnastics, Sport England, Department of Culture Media and Sport, Northamptonshire County Council and the Benham Settlement Fund for making my dreams come true!”

If you would like to come along to the opening celebrations, please do so. NTGA see this as a celebration for all its members both past and present, for trampoline gymnastics and sport as a whole.