York Gymnastics Club are booming.

The Heworth-based club have established themselves as one of the most successful in the north of England, and there is currently a three-year waiting list for junior membership.

The increase in participants is not solely an example of the London 2012 Olympic legacy at work, with head coach Stan Wild declaring that there had been a major increase over the last decade.

“We’ve had an increase over the last three years, but we’ve had a waiting list for the last ten years and it’s because we’ve got a state-of-the-art centre,” he said.

The club’s training centre was designated as a pre-Olympic training centre, illustrating the standard of the facilities.

Wild, who competed for Great Britain at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and the 1972 Munich Games, said: “We’ve been developing the centre for 30 years.”

The club, which regularly hosts national training camps for the country’s leading gymnasts, recently spent £16,000 installing a set of solar panels, highlighting the future planning.

“We’re always looking to expand,” said Wild.

The club’s annual championships are being held this weekend and Wild is expecting it to be the highlight of the year.

“It’s a big weekend for all the members and there should be around 600 people there,” said the coach.

The championships get under way at 2.30pm today.