An Ilkeston gymnast has been recognised for her outstanding volunteering at the British Gymnastics Awards.

Georgina Price, 16, began coaching in gymnastics several years ago at Erewash Valley Gymnastics Club and now has been shortlisted for the prestigious Young Person of the Year prize.

A member of Erewash’s Young Leader programme, Price has been heavily involved in helping young gymnasts and has developed a remarkable relationship with one member of the club.

She said: “It has been a few years now since I started coaching there.

“My coach asked if I could help out as there is a girl with special needs and she thought I would be a great fit for it, so now I do one-to-one with her and we just have a really close bond.

“She has Down’s syndrome and she was non-verbal when I first met her, but she was not able to communicate that to me.

“But as I have started to get to know her better, she has been able to figure out how to communicate non-verbally and has also begun to communicate verbally to me as well.

“I will say words to her with an action and she will say it back to me with an action.

“She loves gymnastics as well and it just shows that it does not matter if you have a disability or anything, you can still do it and I feel that is really good for the gym.”

The British Gymnastics Awards are community led and about championing those who make the sport an uplifting experience for all, with more nominations than ever before coming in this year.

It is the creativity, dedication and passion from people in the sport that make gymnastics an accessible, inclusive and enjoyable sport for all.

The nominations have been judged by panels made up of British Gymnastics committee members and external panellists from across UK Sport, Gymnova, Milano, Gymaid, Youth Sport Trust, Sport England, Women in Sport, The Include Summit, Sport and Recreation Alliance, The Sport for Development Coalition and GB gymnasts.

Price has ADHD herself, but has not let that stop her from making a massive difference at the club, coming in three days a week before her own gymnastics training as she looks to gain experience before a potential career in teaching.

Now after three years, she has gained enough confidence and knowledge to be able to influence routines with her very own choreography.

She added: “I can see that the confidence in my coaching has increased a lot as I go on – just with my experience I see my confidence increasing.

“It is really nice and because I coach the display as well, I choreograph some of their bits as well as their main coach.

“It is just amazing to see them on stage and seeing how their choreography all forms together nicely.

“It is just really nice to see them progress and achieve things.”

The British Gymnastics Awards celebrate those at the heart of gymnastics who create an uplifting experience for all. British Gymnastics has launched a new vision for a new era of gymnastics, learn more about Leap Without Limits here - https://www.british-gymnastics.org/vision