Future of gymnastics club still in limbo

FORT FRANCES—The Fort Frances Gymnastics Club’s future remains uncertain after talks with the town fell through and no definitive plan is in place.
“That’s probably the best way to put it,” said club registrar Darcy Parsons. “We haven’t had a meeting for a while . . . there’s really nothing much to tell.”
The club still is stuck without a long-term home and in a cash crunch, but Parsons said the major hurdle is that there currently are “no coaching prospects in sight.”
Parsons said she’s optimistic the club’s money troubles (it is all but out of reserve funds and remains without a stud fundraiser to hang its lofty operating budget on) could be remedied through government grants.
The club was pledged a sizable grant by the Trillium Foundation and has been encouraged by fund organizers to reapply when their situation steadies.
The pressing sticking points which remain are the club’s lack of a coach (a properly-certified gymnastics coach is required for safety as much as for proper training) and lack of a long-term facility.
The club has said it’s unlikely they can afford to operate their building on Fifth Street East much longer. While they still own it, and no current sale is on the block, operating the club out of the building is probably not in the future.
The club met with Community Services manager George Bell about using space at the Memorial Sports Centre, but Bell said those talks were not fruitful.
“We went through what we could do for them, and obviously that did not meet their needs, and I haven’t heard back,” he added.
Bell said that while talks were positive, the club seemed to be “looking for a permanent facility”—something he said the town would not be able to provide.
Parsons said communications between club organizers since the meeting with Bell have been scarce.
“I haven’t even talked to [club president] Diane [Boustead] for a while right now,” she admitted.
Calls to Boustead were not returned as of press time.
Parsons added any hope of getting the club running for the season would be muddled by the fact that many families have found other activities to tie their children up for the season.
She said she heard from many parents upset that the gymnastics club had not started its season in September, “but everyone has found a different sport to go into,” including herself, with her daughter now enrolled in hockey.
But even with the club’s dormant status, Parsons is confident that if a coach is found, something for this season could be salvaged.
“I don’t think it’d be too hard to get a recreational club back up and running, and probably a small competitive core would be there, as well,” she remarked. “Because I know people who did it, the kids who did it, loved it.
“I know there’s definitely a few kids that [would be] coming back.”
(Fort Frances Times)