The gymnastics success Team GB experienced at London 2012 inspired many children to take up gymnastics and clubs across Wales experienced an influx of new members.

Research by Sport Wales shows that sport in Wales has witnessed a boost in participation in the six months since the London Olympic Games. Welsh Gymnastics were integral in this increase in participation, their number of members rose 25 per cent in 2012.

Kestrel Gymnastics Club, situated on Bulwark Industrial Estate in Chepstow, has attracted 60 new gymnasts since the start of September 2012.

With guidance from Aled Jones, Welsh Gymnastics South East club development officer, in the application process for Sport Wales funding, Kestrel Gymnastics Club have benefited from a Development Grant of £4,000, which head coach Shirley Lazere-Bennett has put towards new equipment for the club.

"Seeing how the Sport Wales funding has impacted Kestrels has been great. We've already seen an increase in participation levels in the club and I'm confident Kestrels will continue to grow membership and expand the clubs provisions during 2013," said Aled.

The introduction of a new Gymnova ring frame is a key addition to the facility which is proving very popular with the male gymnasts.

"We haven't had proper rings at all, for the last four years we've been training with ones off the ceiling. The boys love playing with the new rings, adjusting the tension on the rings – it's a totally different feel," said Shirley.

"The Olympics were great – the publicity for men's gymnastics and for gymnasts like Louis Smith meant we had so many little ones wanting to do gymnastics.

"I've actually even had older children wanting to do gymnastics – I've never seen that before. I have 12 to 16-year-old boys coming to start gymnastics from scratch, since when do you see that? It's because of the Olympics."

The club, founded in 1997, has weathered a series of challenges in its past, including an accidental fire in 2007 which destroyed the then Chepstow-based facility.

In June 2012 the club moved four doors down from a temporary home into an empty unit. In desperate need of apparatus, Shirley was inundated with spare equipment from other gymnastics clubs and after receiving grants from Sport Wales, has over the last few months, re-built Kestrels into a fully functioning gymnastics facility.

"In 2012 we started again; we moved down into an empty unit, we had nothing at all. We borrowed bits and pieces from all over the place, a beam and a bar from Swansea Gymnastics Club and had some mats donated," added Shirley

"Without the grants and the help from other gymnastics clubs we couldn't have come as far as we have."

Shirley's under 8s boy's squad had three members when they moved into the new facility; come September the group was nine strong.

Some of her male gymnasts have broken into the Welsh Development Squad, a national Men's Artistic development programme run by Jason Wink, the Men's Artistic Development coach for Wales. The facility is also being considered as a venue for future development sessions.

Chair of Sport Wales Professor Laura McAllister said: "It's great to hear Kestrels Gymnastics club has seen an increase in members since London 2012 and has used Sport Wales funding to increase the opportunities for young people to participate in Gymnastics."

Geraint Roberts, sport development officer for Chepstow, sees Kestrels position in the local community as essential to maintaining an Olympic legacy.

"To have a space like this, where there is a range of equipment, where children from a young age can experience gymnastics and get them hooked on sport from there, is fantastic.

"There is a limited amount of gymnastics done in school, but in a safe environment like this, people can blossom," said Geraint.

Shirley's focus for 2013 is the expansion of the clubs disability gymnastics programme. A Sport Wales Community Chest grant of over £900 will go towards up-skilling and training the clubs coaches in disability trampolining.

Kestrels is already an 'inclusive' club holding an Insport ribbon accreditation from Disability Sport Wales and hopes now to offer rebound therapy for individuals with special needs in the Chepstow area.

Through a close working relationship with Mark Foster, Disability Sport Wales development officer for Monmouthshire, the club has been linked to offer disability trampolining sessions to Pembroke Primary School in Chepstow which has a Special Education Needs unit.