Airdronians interested in gymnastics will have the chance to satisfy their curiosity Sept. 22 at the Airdrie Edge Gymnastics Club’s open house.
The event, which is open to all ages and costs $5 to attend, will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. at the club’s facility at Genesis Place Recreation Centre.
“We’ll literally have just about our entire staff spread throughout the gym at all the different places where you can do activities, giving people an opportunity to do certain things,” said Jamie Atkin, club manager and head coach.
“It won’t be a free-for-all – what we do here is very different from a trampoline park concept – but it will be an opportunity for everyone to play. The coaches will be there to give ideas, ensure safety, make sure everybody has a good time and has the chance to explore the facility a little bit.”
According to Atkin, the open house intends to introduce local youth to the sport and promote the club’s available programming and fall classes.
Edge is one of the largest youth sports clubs in Airdrie, with 800 to 900 athletes passing through its doors each week, Atkin said. While most gymnasts are from Airdrie, he added some members come from farther away, such as Olds, Sundre, Carstairs and Crossfield.
“Lots of people from north Calgary, as well,” he said. “We get people who come because of the wider facility, as well as the quality of our specific gym club. Especially in our competitive programming and for our highly-specific classes that are hard to find, we have people travelling from quite far.”
Gymnastics has deep roots in Airdrie, according to Atkin, who has been involved with Edge since 1994. Prior to 1987, he said, the club rented space in local schools, and staff would set up and take down equipment daily. In 1991, the club moved into its first permanent facility, at what is now the Ron Ebbesen Arena.
By 2009, Edge had outgrown the space, and relocated down the street to its current 24,000 square-foot, custom-built gym at Genesis Place.
“This whole space was designed by our staff and volunteers, in conjunction with the City,” Atkin said. “It was built to our purposes, so it’s perfect for our use and lets us handle kids of all ages and levels.”
While a third of Edge’s programming is catered to youth aged six and under, Atkin said many of the club’s older members train competitively. The club’s trampoline and tumbling program has churned out multiple athetes at the world championships, and Edge also boasts a competitive women’s artistic gymnastics program, along with a performance troupe and a parkour and free-running program.
Notable club alumni include Corissa Boychuck – the first Alberta athlete to win gold at the World Trampoline Championships in 2010 – and Julie Warnock, a former world-record holder and silver medalist at the World Trampoline Championships in 2009.
“If you want to take it the distance, that’s something we’ve done before and that opportunity is there,” Atkin said.
For those who are less serious but still want to take part in gymnastics recreationally, he said one of the sport's biggest benefits is providing a foundation for physical movement that leads to being successful in other areas.
“Gymnastics as a base for everything you do is the thing I think is so important,” he said. “Literally every single preschool-aged child should do some significant time of preschool gymnastics.
“We have a tendency in North America to mistakenly try to specialize kids into things early, as a theoretical way of getting a head start. The research doesn’t support that and our own experiences don’t support that.”
For more information, visit airdrieedge.com
