High-flying gym club expands QEII premises | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

New Zealand's biggest gym club will be even more prominent in the sport when the Christchurch School of Gymnastics opens a $1.3 million extension to its facilities at Queen Elizabeth II Park next week.

The development, which almost doubles the size of its headquarters, will be opened by Prime Minister Helen Clark on March 29.

CSG has nearly 1600 members training at least once a week. And with 11 fulltime and 39 part-time staff, CSG employs more people than any other Canterbury sports club.

The 860 sq m addition increases the club's space by 85% and will be used for pre-school, trampoline, and general gym classes.

It will enable the club to deliver many more programmes to the community, particularly for pre-schoolers, said CSG executive officer Avril Enslow.

Active under-five programmes are one of the growth areas for gym clubs.

The city council, Community Trust, Lion Foundation, Eureka Trust, Mainland Foundation, and NZCT have also helped finance the extension.

Any discussion of biggest and largest stats in respect to CSG quickly has Enslow adding "and the best." Thirty-eight titles at the last nationals adds credence to that, and now the gymnastics super club looks set for even more achievement.