The best of both worlds is happening at a gymnastics facility with a twist.
Airborne Tumbling and Trampoline and Foothills GymStars are now operating out of the same state-of-the-art facility where programming of opposite ends of the gymnastics spectrum is available to families.
“We were looking for something else anyway, we’re new but we’re growing,” said Foothills GymStars owner Karen Sim. “The pits are a big bonus for us coming in with some of our gymnasts becoming more elite now, they can work safely on doubles and twists and more elite vaults that we would have had to prep for a lot longer.
“Just having the marriage of two different disciplines of gymnastics under the same roof is great.”
The two clubs remain separate entities – but there is a lot of crossover in the gym with some athletes transferring over from one club to another over the years.
Airborne offers the tumbling and trampoline components while GymStars is strictly an artistic gymnastics club.
“We really just do girls, except for our recreational stuff, but with having Airborne here, now siblings have somewhere to go,” Sim said. “It’s great because we’ve had kids that were very able in the past, but they’re scared stiff of the bars and now we’re able to say ‘hey, why don’t you try Airborne?
“We don’t compete against each other, I think it just complements and we can have more programs.”
Airborne’s plans for its large facility were shook up last year when the Alberta Gymnastics Federation announced sweeping changes to insurance for recreational activities surrounding the trampoline.
“It just limited us in terms of what we were able to offer, especially us being trampoline only,” said Airborne coach Kennedy Imler. “Originally, we were allowed to have any kid on trampoline, as long as they paid their original insurance fee. Now it’s pretty much restricted to ages 6 and up, unless they’re in a competitive or development program.
“Merging and coming together with another gym club was probably our best option.”
The GymStars programming also took a hit with the insurances changes, particularly to its recreational offerings.
“It restricted us too,” Sim said. “The long track was a big hit with all of our recreational kids and we used to have a trampoline up too, but then all of that had to stop.
“This was a new regulation that came out of the dark, nobody knew it was going to come out. Everyone just had to deal with it.”
Though the new arrangement means more traffic in and out the gym, busy is a good problem to have in gymnastics.
“It’s a little bit easier to run things all under one roof, especially because we’re all having to abide by the same governing body, which is the Alberta Gymnastics Federation,” Imler said. “It’s simpler to get them in here than an other sport or an other activity because we all have a similar understanding of the same rules and everything.”
Sim, who founded Foothills GymStars, said the club is thrilled to have a home after a somewhat nomadic journey to this point.
“I wanted to start my own club because I have my own ideals of what I consider good for gymnastics, I’ve seen a lot of other clubs where they do so many hours at such a young age and kids burn out,” she said. “For some, that works, but for me I wanted to offer high level gymnastics with reasonable hours that people could meet, we offer recreational and recreational competitive, the inter-club, and then we have our junior Olympics stream.”
The club has a membership close to the 300 range with more room for growth as well as a cheerleading group working out of its facility.
“We’ve been happy with the move, it’s given us a forever home now,” Sim added. “We’ve been open three years now and this is our third move. We’ve literally followed (Airborne) in every building they’ve been to … They couldn’t shake us, really.”
It has proven to be a symbiotic relationship for both clubs as well as its member families.
“It’s definitely busier in the lobby, a lot more traffic in and out the door,” Imler said.
“We always had parents viewing before, but I think people are interested to see the different things that each program offers.
“We always spy on each other and we get different ideas for stuff. I find that really valuable, just to see what other coaches do and how they develop their athletes a little bit differently. We get along pretty well.”
Sim was singing from the same hymn sheet.
“It’s so much better for both clubs,” she said. “We have so much more to offer families, there’s artistic, cheer, trampoline and tumble, parties, everything under one roof.”
Both clubs are running a competition on Dec. 1 at the Airborne and GymStars facility in Aldersyde.
For more information on Airborne go to airbornetandt.com and for the latest on the Foothills GymStars visit foothillsgymstars.com
