Local Olympian to Find Team GB’s Future Stars

Highly decorated artistic gymnast, Daniel Purvis, is hoping to help shape the stars of tomorrow with the launch of Daniel Purvis Gymnastics on Merseyside.

Working in partnership with Sefton Council and British Gymnastics, the London 2012 Olympic Bronze Medal winner is bringing together a team of coaches to nurture talented children inspired by the success of Team GB in Rio and help promote gymnastics across the area.

Daniel is no stranger to the borough from which he is launching his latest venture, having attended school in nearby Crosby and trained at the Southport YMCA, and the former Best Male British Gymnast believes the region is a hot bed of potential Olympic talent.

Daniel said: “I am over the moon to be launching Dan Purvis Gymnastics and it is something that I have been thinking about for some time. Having grown up and trained in Sefton, I know how much talent there is in the local communities here and I believe gymnastics will thrive as a sport with the right infrastructure.

“I have worked with Sefton Council on a number of projects and once I decided to push forward with the idea it was very important that they were also on board. There is a real focus on sports provision from the Council and I believe that this partnership will only strengthen that.”

Having won many medals during his career, including Golds at the 2012 European Championships and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and recently a Silver medal at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow, Daniel will look to his many years of experience when devising the training sessions.

Daniel continues: “To be honest, I think coaching a group youngsters aged 5-11 will be a vastly different challenge to anything I’ve faced before but I’m confident my experience will stand me in good stead.

“The classes will be open to all abilities, so I will be working closely with the team of coaches to put together a training schedule suitable for all. However, I think it is important they we treat each child as an individual and make sure the training helps develop them to be the best that they can. Some children might never have taken part before but be a complete natural.”

For Daniel, the dream is to help shape the next Gold medal winning gymnast, however he wants to make sure that everyone taking part in the sport has fun.

“Of course, if we manage to unearth the next superstar in gymnastics that would be fantastic, but most importantly I want to make gymnastics accessible to everyone, to really build on the Olympic legacy and make sure that everyone enjoys taking part.”

As well as working with Daniel Purvis Gymnastics, Sefton Council will also be launching the Jump programme with British Gymnastics.

All classes will be launched in week beginning October, 31 and will take place across the borough.

Parents and children can register for classes now by calling 0151 288 6286.