Watching elite level gymnasts pull off a variety of double back flips (some with twists) may seem intimidating, but the benefits of gymnastics come long before reaching that level, if ever at all. All participants of gymnastics develop impressive strength-to-bodyweight ratios, strong postural muscles, upper body strength, flexibility and good leaping abilities.

In fact, Gymnastics BC and many other associations consider gymnastics to be the foundation of all human movement. It provides a solid foundation of important skills such as balance, strength, flexibility and overall body awareness that can be transferred to all other athletic activities. Children develop lifelong skills while fostering social interactions with peers in a fun and positive environment!

Gymnastics is an activity for everyone. It allows each participant to explore various forms of movement in a fun and creative way. Gymnastics is one of the best activities for contributing to the overall development of a child as it provides the foundation for participation and success in all other athletic activities.

Participation in gymnastics classes provides children with many physical, cognitive and psychological benefits. These skills will benefit participants throughout their lives.

Physical Benefits

Cognitive Benefits

• Awareness of:
  • the body
  • space and where the body is in it
  • relationships: body parts to each other and with apparatus
  • relationships with others

Psychological Benefits

• The joy of movement mastery
• Discipline and self control
• The exercise habit as a pleasurable daily occurrence
• A confident self image and a positive attitude towards their bodies
• Trust in one's own abilities: move from a world of "I can't" to "I can"

Beyond the benefits that gymnastics has directly, it is often a prescribed cross training tool for many sports. Sports such as diving, swimming, martial arts, skiing, dance and more benefit from the skills learned from gymnastics.

Most importantly though, gymnastics is just plain fun!!