A beloved fixture in the Eastern Bay for nearly 60 years, EBOP Gymnastics Club is facing its biggest challenge yet: finding a new home.

Located on Lovelock Street, adjacent to the Whakatāne High School sports field, the club is a hub of activity, offering numerous programmes and events for individuals, schools, and community groups. It also hosts a recreational competitive squad.

Although the club owns the building and its equipment, the land is used by the Ministry of Education, and the lease will expire in 2028, leaving the club with no right of renewal.

The club’s committee has turned to the Whakatāne District Council in search of new land for relocation.

The council says it has been aware of the club’s situation for some time and it is committed to supporting it to find a new location but acknowledges there are limited options available.

In addition, Whakatāne High School, which has a growing enrollment, is interested in purchasing the gymnastics club’s building for its sports programmes.

EBOP Gymnastics Club operations manager Kelly Precious said the best option would be to relocate the building to land where they could have a long lease and in a location that continues to allow easy access to its members and the community groups that use the club.

“EBOP Gymnastics club has been an asset to Whakatane and the wider community for over 50 years and it would be a huge loss if the club doesn’t find a new home,” she said.

The club was purpose-built for gymnastics and had grown its specialised and valuable equipment over the years, she said.

“Gymnastics facilities are rarely multi-use facilities due to the equipment required.”

Rex Morpeth Park was initially considered a potential site, but the council’s consultant team for the Rex Morpeth Recreation Hub master planning process ruled it out due to existing users and limited space.

Georgina Fletcher, the council’s general manager of community experience, said the council explored other council-owned properties and found limited suitable alternative land holdings within the CBD, other than land at Cutler Crescent.

“This has been put forward as an option for the club to pursue further. Warren Park has also been tabled as a potential location, however, council does not own the majority of this land, rather it is largely owned by the Ministry of Education.

“Discussions are under way with MoE and Whakatāne High School on the future of this land.”

Whakatāne High School principal Martyn Knapton highlighted the school’s longstanding relationship with the club going back to the days when the club was established in the school gym.

“The challenge for us is that we are a growing school, and we would love to have a larger facility for our sports’ programmes,” said Mr Knapton.

“We have over 600 students involved in sport now and we are able to use Memorial Hall facilities for training and game time alongside our gym and other community facilities. Using the gymnastics club as a facility will benefit our students.”

The school has exclusive rights to use the facility between 9am and 3pm four days a week at present but wishes to use it more frequently for its Athlete Development Programme in 2025.

The school board, he said, was in talks with the gymnastics club about purchasing the building.  These conversations are ongoing.

“We have had communication about that and that is possibly a work in progress. It makes sense for the school for [the gym club building] to stay where it is.”

The gymnastics club, a non-profit run by a volunteer committee, was established in 1967 in the school gym and over 20 years saved $67,000 towards a building of their own. It was opened in 2008 on its current site.

Super busy, 169 gymnasts attend weekly classes, and it has a squad of 40 recreational competitive gymnasts.

It has many other weekly daytime users – from preschool classes to programmes for special needs students, and holidays programmes.

Groups from Little Moments, Bizzy Buddyz, Eastern Bay Homebased Childcare, Seventh Day Adventist and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Orini ki Ngāti Awa also attend term time.

In addition, it holds annual events, including an interschool competition that drew 310 children this year and the popular Flix n Trix Ribbon Day, plus a Halloween night.