MOUNT VERNON — Gymnastics, or a version therof, is seen every day in television commercials, movies and music, not to mention special events such as the Olympics that highlights gymnastics as a sport incorporating dance, physical fitness and skill in tumbling, flipping and controlled body movement.
But popular as gymnastics may be, the sport doesn’t come without a price. The YMCA and The Spotlight Dance Studio are two places locally that offer gymnastics programs. “Practice makes perfect,” so the saying goes. With practice comes time, and with time comes expense.
The cost of participating in a gymnastics program can be an issue when it comes to an unstable economy, but programs try to make classes open for all financial situations. The gymnastics season is from October to April, depending on competitions; the summer months are spent in practice and preparation.
“This past summer was bad,” said Jen Nichols, gymnastics coordinator for the YMCA. “People going on vacation and who are going to miss a week, they would just take the whole month off.
“I had a class of 45 go down to eight. It was a pretty rough summer for us, probably the worse I have seen in nine years,” she said. “I was very flexible with [the] kids this summer. I had a ton of kids out [of the program] this summer, enough that I had to send out a big e-mail to the parents.”
The YMCA program cut the staff to a minimum in order to survive the decline in participants.
“Now we are OK. But because of the Olympics, this is our busiest time of the year,” said Nichols.
The fall months are the busiest with new classes starting for beginners and the return of continuing students. With the lack of participation during the summer months, it’s difficult to plan routines and other necessary components for competition.
“It makes it hard all the way around because now we are playing catch-up from the loss we had this summer,” said Nichols.
Even with the decline in membership for the gymnastics program, the YMCA as a whole helps with maintaining the program.
“We’re at an advantage here compared to the privately owned small dance places just because when we are not bringing enough to pay the electric, gas and water, we have other programs that can support us,” said Nichols.
Nichols has been coordinating the YMCA gymnastic program for more than nine years, and has seen parents as well as the community respond to the program.
“We have a lot of really awesome supportive parents that work really hard to help us buy our equipment,” she said. “And we have a lot of support from parents that sponsor other kids that can’t afford to be here.”
According to Nichols, the financial requirements of the program should not be a reason for an interested child not to participate.
“If they really want it, we have an amazing scholarship program at the main YMCA with an annual campaign to fundraise for that scholarship fund. [About] $45,000, I think, is what we raised for scholarships for Knox County,” said Nichols. “We have a couple of businesses that privately sponsor a kid on the team.”
The scholarship program supports youths with competition fees, session fees, equipment and attire.
“Our YMCA is really blessed, I think, in this community because we have so many people in this area that are so supportive of having this available to even people who don’t have the income to have their kid in the gymnastics program,” said Nichols.
The program has had six successful seasons; this year, one of its members is a national champion.
“What we are able to offer is a very high-quality gymnastics program, and my staff is very well trained, having experience in competing or coaching somewhere else. We are really, really lucky to have the staff we have here,” said Nichols.
Gymnastics is not the only popular vigorous activity available in Knox County. Owners of dance studios such as The Spotlight dance center, which opened in August, understand that the expense may be one aspect, but the overall growth and development of each student is a lifetime of wealth.
The Spotlight owners Katie Delozier and Stephanie Stute have been a part of the dance community for a long time. Growing up in Knox County, and working under local professionals, they understand the importance of dance for youth.
“We both have a love and passion for dance and having our own dance center is something we both dreamed of, so we thought working together on the project would be great,” said Stute, adding they have seen a great response from the community with membership and support. “We were pleased at the amount of students we have, and we are still enrolling students.
“This year at our studio we have seen a lot of people come back to dance that have not danced in a couple of years, which is a great thing to see people getting in the arts again,” she continued.
Classes range from 2 years old to adult.
“With dance, it is a great physical activity to help keep kids healthy, but at the same time dance teaches so much more self-confidence, coordination and self-discipline. And it is great to see kids come in to learn new steps and see that expression on their face that they have learned something great,” said Stute.
Dance styles such as tap, jazz, hip-hop and ballet, among others, are taught but, in addition, respect is also taught.
“A lot of things that they learn from a dance class help their character later on in life,” said Stute.
