About Us
Who We Are
Charisma is much more than just a gymnastics club; our philosophy is “happiness breeds success”.
At Charisma we don’t see gymnastics as just a sport; it is a way of life. The discipline and work ethic required to excel in gymnastics are the same qualities that breed success in any endeavour.
Charisma provides a safe and supportive community that encourages and uplifts one another. To our gymnasts, Charisma is like a second family, where individuals work together to achieve common goals, build strong relationships, and foster a sense of belonging.
Where We Began
Our Founder Gina's love of gymnastics began when she was just 5 years old.
She and her sister Nikki were fortunate enough to be coached by Mrs Pauline Prestidge who at the time was one of the best coaches at the best club in the country.
She coached a number of British Champions including Suzanne Dando.
This picture attached shows us as part of Suzanne’s Team Winning The London Youth Games.
Our gymnastics career was intense and successful training 20 Hours plus a week, and achieving National Squad Status.
On retirement we wanted to give something back to the sport which had given us so much. So in 1989 Gina and Nikki started coaching a small number of gymnasts.
Today Charisma now has hundreds of gymnasts!!!
If you are interested please feel free to have a look at these books which Gina and Nikki are in.
Better Gymnastics by Pauline Prestidge
Skills & Tactics of Gymnastics by Peter Aykroyd
Past Achievements
The quality of coaching was recognised by The London Gymnastics Federation at a Special Ceremony.
The famous Olga Korbut Olympic Gymnast (Munich 1972) presented Gina with the the prestigious award of COACH OF THE YEAR and a few years later CLUB OF THE YEAR.
The coaches also keep their gymnastics up to date by doing displays and even taking part in competitions. See Montages
For example: Gina competed in the British Veterans and Won Silver in 30 – 40 Year Age Group.
As To the Future...
The club is always looking to maintain and improve our standards. Due to the exceptional demand we are looking at how we can timetable new classes
and develop boys gymnastics. We are welcoming some new coaches to the club as well as introducing some of our ex gymnasts – Some who have been at the club for 15 years – to coaching roles.
This is what we call our Charisma Circle of life where gymnasts who join us as 4 year olds progress through the club and then become coaches, they then have their own children who then attend the club.
The Charisma Circle of Life !
We want to explore the idea of display gymnastics which we did some years ago very successfully. Finally we are continuing our desire to offer young gymnasts as many opportunities as possible by continuing our trips overseas.