The Athabasca-based Flips Gymnastics Club has drastically expanded this year and is looking at basing practices out of two locations this year, according to club president Nichole Collins.
“We have doubled our classes, which is really exciting,” said Collins, adding that the club now has more coaches to keep up with the demand.
Flips Gymnastics Club draws children from as far as Lac La Biche, Westlock and Clyde.
Collins announced the club might be partnering with the gymnastics gym in Tawatinaw.
“If anyone has heard of the gymnastics club in Tawatinaw, we have been working with the owner of that club to see if it is feasible to run some classes out there, as well as at our home club here in Athabasca,” she explained.
She said Flips will not abandon Athabasca for the Tawatinaw facility entirely. Flips currently hosts practices on the Agriplex grounds.
“Athabasca will always be our home club,” she said. “This is our home base; we are going to have the majority of our classes here.”
She said the club thinks of the Tawatinaw facility as a lakefront property.
“What the Tawatinaw club offers that we can’t is that they have two trampoline pits and quadruple the floor space and equipment so that we can offer more for our kids,” she explained. “If all goes well, the coaches are going to work out of both facilities.”
Collins said the boys program has also expanded since last year.
“Last year, we introduced a boys program,” she said. “We got a male coach from the city, and we did a few workshops. This year, we have been able to have him come two days a week.”
The boys program will focus on male gymnastic events.
“The pommel horse, the rings, parallel bars that are really targeted to upper body strength,” Collins said.
The girls pre-competition program, which is in its third year, has also expanded.
“This year, we are hoping to send them to three competitions,” she said. “On average, kids in the city in that program train nine hours a week. Right now, we are trying between five and seven hours a week to see how that works for our kids.”
Collins said last year went really well.
“We had a combination of coaches from the city, as well as local coaches,” she said. “We did one coach in training (CIT): that is a program for kids 14 to 16 years of age. If they are interested in becoming an assistant coach and getting their coaching levels, this program helps introduce them to the world of coaching.”
Though the club’s registration night and annual general meeting already took place on Sept. 10, interested parents can still complete a registration form on the Flips website at www.athabascaflips.ca.
