Gymnastic club in Newbury will keep displaying Russian flag despite Ukrainian upset

Tensions are high between the Ukrainian community in West Berkshire and a gymnastic club who are refusing to take down a Russian Coat of Arms flag.

KD Gymnastics, on Bone Lane in Newbury, has been met with criticism after publically displaying the Russian flag featuring an emblem representing the former Russian Empire.

The club describes itself as a safe, positive and child friendly environment but Ukrainian mothers have expressed their upset after visiting with their children earlier this month.

One Ukrainian mother attended the club, midway through May, with her four-year-old daughter and raised her concern with the staff after seeing the flag hanging next to the Union Jack.

She had to leave her husband in Ukraine when the conflict broke out and made the journey to the UK with her daughter as well as her younger sister and her two children – aged 10 and 13-years-old.

The five of them have been staying in Newbury with a couple who wish to remain nameless.

Their Homes for Ukraine host told Newbury Today that the incident left his Ukrainian guest in tears.

He said: “My guests have gone through terrible trauma, they watched a Russian missile hitting their house in slow motion on their neighbours CCTV.

“Their business was hit by two missiles.

“The flag is extreme and provocative, [keeping it] will cause harm and negate all the work that the [KD Gymnastics] volunteers do.”

Another Ukrainian woman, who has been staying in West Berkshire for around a year, took to social media after she heard of the upset that had been circulating within the local Ukrainian community.

She shared the experiences of some Ukrainian mothers who saw the flag, which they say was put up earlier in May.

She said: “I haven't met such insolence here [KD Gymnastics] yet, but it's a popular place where children's birthdays are held.

“The hall is also visited by Ukrainian children who were in the occupation, saw these flags, saw the enemy, have trauma.

“This is unacceptable.”

However, KD Gymnastics told Newbury Today that the flag has been up for more than 15 years and represents its Russian attendees.

A club spokesperson said: “We have many flags that fly at KD Gymnastics and a Russian one was one of them and they have been flown by KD Gymnastics for over 15 years.

“We have many families from different countries that attend KD Gymnastics, Russian families being some of them.

“It is disappointing that the non-member who contacted you should seek to politicise a gymnastics facility aimed at children and young adults.

“We at KD Gymnastics have had a hardship fund since the beginning of the conflict, specifically for the Ukrainian children looking to attend here, this fund is well subscribed, and we will continue to offer this help whenever needed.”

KD Gymnastics is a registered Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) with all profits reinvested in the club and it does not fall under the jurisdiction of national governing body British Gymnastics.

A West Berkshire resident of Ukrainian background also saw the flag earlier this month and issued a complaint with the senior management.

The Ukrainian woman said her cries were met with laughter and she was told that the club were “proud” to hang the flag.

She later took the complaint to national governing body British Gymnastics (BG), which said there was nothing it could do.

A spokesperson for BG said: “British Gymnastics is clear that we condemn the Russian government's invasion of Ukraine, and as the national governing body for gymnastics, we are working under the UK government guidance which states that sports organisations should not and do not intend to, express support for the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian or Belarussian regimes, or their leadership.

“The guidance also requires Russian and Belarussian athletes to participate neutrally, being clear that they are not supported by either state, or have a supportive stance of Russia's action in Ukraine.

“With this in mind, we would advise if this issue was raised with us regarding a BG-registered club, that the public display of a Russian flag would not be in line with our position or that of the UK Government position as highlighted above.

“Currently, however, KD Gymnastics are not a registered British Gymnastics club, and therefore fall out of our governance and membership.”