Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre
The Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre (JGC) was established in 1993 and is officially registered as a non-profit company. JGC is currently considered the leading Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Club (we also cater for boys) in South Africa and has, since inception, produced:
• 5 Olympic-Qualified gymnasts
• 28 Female Protea/Springbok gymnasts who have all represented their country at various International Competitions.
• 14 National Champions in the Senior Olympic section, since 1993.
JGC’s main branch is situated in Newlands, where our gymnasts hail from areas such as Rosebank, Illovo, Randburg, Linden, Parktown, Westbury, Triomf, Northcliff, Quellerina, Greymont, Roodepoort, Soweto, Krugersdorp, Eldorado Park and Florida.
We also have a sister branch in Randburg. Both of these clubs have shown fantastic growth since opening in 1993 and September 2016, respectively.
Currently, 60-70% of the South African National Gymnastics team originates from JGC and train under the watchful eyes of former Protea gymnast, Ilse Roets-Pelser and assistant coaches, Candice Cronje, Anke Badenhorst and Leeland Christian.
Our organization prides itself in that we welcome young boys and girls with a dream and turn them into men and women with vision.
Our boys’ coaches are highly qualified and very dedicated to these young lads, which shows in our recent success at Gauteng Central Champs.
Highlighted Achievements
One of proudest moments was when our very own JGC gymnasts, Caitlin Rooskrantz and Naveen Daries, represented South Africa at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics! They both had a world class competition and even attained a personal best under such immense pressure with the world watching.
Naveen was nominated & won, as The 2021 Emerging Athlete of the Year by GSPORT4GIRLS, after following in Caitlin’s footsteps when she won this award in 2020.
Did you know that another two of our gymnasts, Ashleigh Heldsinger and Claudia Cummins qualified for The LONDON 2012 & RIO 2016 Olympics respectively?
Another of our many highlights was when we won the Jack Cheetham / Murray & Roberts award in 2012. Various clubs of all sporting disciplines countrywide apply for this prestigious award and we are extremely fortunate and honoured to have captured their attention.
The Gauteng Sports Coach of the Year is awarded annually by the Gauteng Department of Sport to the coach of the year, relating to all sport disciplines. For the first time ever it was awarded to a gymnastics coach and we are honoured to have had Head Coach and owner, Ilse Pelser, accept this prestigious award in 2012.
Other accolades and worthy mentions include:
- SAGF (South African Gymnastics Federation) awards, where JGC dominated the awards for most of the years between 2012 -2020.
- Senior Olympic Gymnast of the Year award on several occasions.
- International participation, where we represented our country and brought back gold, silver and bronze medals from a far as Serbia, Wales, USA, Scotland, Korea, Isle of Man, Slovenia, Belgium, Hungary and Germany to name but a few.
- Kirsten Beckett’s Senior Olympic Gymnast of the Year title for two years in a row as well as All Around title at the All Africa Games in the Congo.
- Caitlin Rooskrantz scoring a magnificent 13.75 on uneven bars - the highest from any South African gymnast to date – and placing second in the team competition in Belgium alongside fellow top junior, Naveen Daries.
- Travelling to Orlando, USA to compete in the USAIGC Club World Championships in 2014 & 2016.
- Winning the Central Gauteng Coach of the Year award in every possible section, for three years in a row.
- Caitlin winning GOLD on bars at the Hungary World cup in 2019& going on to qualify outright for the Olympic Games at the Stuttgart World Champs in 2019.
JGC coaches won the CENTRAL GAUTENG COACH OF THE YEAR AWARDS FOR FOUR CONSECUTIVE YEARS! Proof that we have the best coaches in the country - right here at our top-class facility!
The Benefit of Gymnastics
> Foundation for all other sports
> Gross motor development
> Developing strength and flexibility
> Instilling discipline
> Confidence building
> Social skills development
> Honing balance and coordination
High Performance Gymnastics: Our HP squad consists of forty gymnasts (both senior and junior), all of whom are in preparation for future International Competitions and Olympic participation.
Tumbling Classes: JGC offers tumbling as a discipline and these classes are simply brilliant. Tumbling forms a very strong basic foundation for artistic gymnastics and our head coach in this arena, Leeland Christian, closely supervises the Saturday classes.
Fees are charged per month & vary depending on the amount of hours your child trains & start at only R600 per month for one and a half to three hours per week, which is what most beginner gymnasts do.
Mission Statement
We want to help the gymnasts grow into happy and healthy individuals, who are self-confident with good self-esteems.
We continuously strive to maintain a professional coaching staff with a high level of integrity, knowledge and experience, helping our gymnasts to achieve their personal best.
Some children choose gymnastics for recreation, some train to enhance their health, coordination and overall physical well-being. Others train to participate in the competitive aspect of the sport coupled with their Olympic dreams. We are proud to claim that we have a healthy mixture of all of the above children in one top-class gymnastics facility.
Mainstream Gymnastics Programs
Not only are we focused on results, but we realize the importance of our role in shaping these young girls to becoming women of vision.
Gymnastics is a highly disciplined sport and our level 4 and higher gymnasts train anywhere from 10 to 34 hours per week. These girls learn how to balance their sport with their school work and other extramural activities, whilst at the same time focusing on their individual goals. In essence, acquiring valuable life skills that will stand them in good stead for their bright futures.
Our Coaches
ILSE PELSER
Judging Qualification: SAGF Level 3 (National)
Years Experience: 23 years
Fun Fact: Ilse is the head coach and owner of JGC Gymnastics. She has produced numerous Protea gymnasts and continues to do this, year in and year out. Her passion and love for the sport is contagious. Ilse is mom to Sadie & Olivia, who are JGC family.
CANDICE CRONJE
Judging Qualification: SAGF Level 3 (National)
Years of experience: 9 years
Fun Fact: Candice was a Protea gymnast from 2006-2009. She competed at Commonwealth Games and well as various World Championships & African Championships. She coaches high performance gymnastics and loves the sport more than she loves pizza. (which is a lot ?)
LEELAND CHRISTIAAN
Years of Experience: 6
Fun Fact: Leeland is our head coach and co-owner of tumbling. He is a wonderful coach, and co-skill development for sister clubs. He is a bar and vault specialist.
PAIGE CRONJE
Judging Qualification: SAGF Level 2
Years of Experience: 3
Fun Fact: Paige was a National Gymnast and is a Protea Cheerleader. She has obtained her Law Degree at UJ and is currently doing her Honours in English. She is also the head coach at the JGC Fairlands branch.
ANKE BADENHOST
Judging Qualification: FIG International Brevet Category 2
Years of Experience: 18
Fun Fact: Anke has recently re-joined the JGC team. She has been a part of the family for many years. She has traveled with the National team to many international competitions as judge and coach. She is an asset and always eager to help.
AMINA BOOMGAARD
Judging Qualification: SAGF Level 3 (National)
Years of Experience: 12
Fun Fact: Amina was a gymnast and a 3 time Protea Cheerleader. She has been coaching at JGC since the Stone Age! She is a part of the JGC Admin team and head coach for Level 4-7. She has a special way with gymnast and is loved by all.
AQEELAH BOOMGAARD
Judging Qualification: SAGF Level 3 (National)
Years of Experience: 5
Fun Fact: Aqeelah was a gymnast at JGC and danced for 9 years at the school of dance. She is a 2 time Protea Cheerleader and a fantastic coach. She also coaches at numerous schools and is part of the JGC Admin team.
SUZANNE MAY
Judging Qualification: SAGF Level 3 (National)
Years Experience: 9 years
Fun Fact: Suzanne is a high performance coach and head of level 1-3. She has a passion for gymnastics and the children she coaches every day and she is also mom to Elano, who is part of the JGC family.
RYAN BLOY
Judging Qualification: SAGF Level 2
Years of experience: 5
Fun Fact: Ryan was a Junior Protea Gymnast and is a 2 time Protea Cheerleader. She is currently studying Criminology. She is great with the children and a fantastic coach.
KAYLA DAIRES
Fun Fact: Kayla coaches at JGC and at the JGC Fairlands branch. She is new to the team and the older sister of our very own Naveen Daires (2017 Senior National Champion) and Zelme Daires (Current Junior National Champion).
FRANCOIS VISSER
Years of Experience: 7
Fun Fact: Francois is a qualified personal trainer and has recently started training the gymnasts. He is very passionate about fitness and giving the right workout routine to high level athletes.
ZELDA CRONJE
Judging Qualification: SAGF Level 2 and Cadet MAG Level 2
Years of Experience: 8
Fun Fact: Zelda is a qualified Sports massage therapist and massages most of our national team. She is also a Pre-School basic gymnastics development coach. She is an asset to our team.