Kerikeri Gymnastics Club SOS answered by Kerikeri Primary School

Young gymnasts, from left, Ava Bavister, 10, Anna Davison, 12, Grace Calnan, 12, and Zoe Ackers, 11, when they were still unsure if they'd be able to continue training. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A Kerikeri school has come to the rescue of a gymnastics club which had just weeks to find new premises or leave up to 200 disappointed young gymnasts unable to train.

Kerikeri Gymnastics Club was based in the old Placemakers building in the town's industrial area, paying minimal rent on the understanding it would have to move out if the building was sold or a commercial tenant was found.

That lasted for 10 years but last month the club was finally given notice, prompting an SOS for temporary premises while the club continues fundraising for a building of its own.

Club president Janet McLea said Kerikeri Primary School had come to the rescue, offering the use of its hall on Hone Heke Rd until the end of the year.

"The school has been very obliging. We're really pleased and relieved," Mrs McLea said.

Both the daytime classes for preschoolers and after-school gymnastics would resume once the new term started. Some equipment would be kept in the hall while the rest would be stored in a parent's garage.

The club moved the last of its equipment on Saturday with the help of the Kerikeri Cadet Unit and a couple of ex-army trucks.

Meanwhile, the club was continuing to assess its long-term options. Some of those options were discussed in a meeting with other community groups on Wednesday.

The club has already undertaken a feasibility study into building its own gym on the BaySports site in Waipapa.

In other good news for the club this week Mrs McLea said it had been granted $11,500 by the NZ Racing Board for a tumble track, a 12m-long trampoline for practising tumbling.

The Kerikeri Cadet Unit, an army-based youth group which shared the old Placemakers building, is also looking for a new home.