Photo courtesy Rainy Lake Gymnastics Academy/Facebook
The Rainy Lake Gymnastics Academy has found a new home.
It plans to move into the former Club 88 on Scott St. in Fort Frances this fall.
The Beyak Automotive Group recently acquired the building.
President Jessica Ogden says their relationship with Nick Beyak led to them becoming the tenant.
“We are so grateful for the generous sponsorship of Fort Frances GM, which was instrumental in allowing us to get our Club off the ground in 2019. With this new partnership with the Beyak Automotive Group as our landlord, we hope to continue to offer a high-quality gymnastics program for young athletes for many years to come,” says Ogden.
The Club has operated out of the Memorial Sports Centre since its inception in 2018.
Ogden says it was a great place to get started but sharing with other users forced the Club to set up and take down its equipment every night. Ogden says it was starting to show on the equipment.
“While the auditorium at the Memorial Sports Centre was an ideal location for our first year, having a space to call our own will mean we no longer need to set up and take down our equipment every week,” says Ogden.
The new building provides the Academy with plenty of space.
Ogden says that offers them the ability to consider expanding programming, purchasing additional apparatuses and hosting demonstrations.
The Academy is also looking at operating seven days a week once they get settled.
More than 230 athletes from across the Rainy River District and International Falls took part in the inaugural year. The pandemic put a suspension on this season.
Nick Beyak, the president of Beyak Automotive Group, says he was happy to provide the space.
“It is an honour to deepen our partnership with the Rainy Lake Gymnastics Academy. The dedication of their board is commendable, and the club is a true asset to the town of Fort Frances. This investment will help to guarantee the sustainability of the Academy by allowing them to have a home to call their own,” says Beyak.
“Thank you certainly does not seem like a strong enough sentiment to express our gratitude for the support Nick has shown us from the beginning,” adds Ogden. “We look forward to working with the Beyak Automotive Group to develop the RLGA in its new location.”
