OnStage Gymnastics Club is the first of its kind in Stratford

Introducing the brand new OnStage Gymnastics Club at 65 Albert St opening later this summer.

It is with great excitement that Meghan Seamen, owner and artistic director of the well-established OnStage Dance Studio, announces the new OnStage Gymnastics Club opening later this summer. This new endeavour is the first dedicated facility for gymnastics in Stratford and will answer the burgeoning demand in the community.

With 20 years of working with youth in the community in dance, the time has come for this companion business to meet the growing demand for gymnastics within the city, and more specifically, the downtown core. OnStage Gymnastics Club will be located at 65 Albert St.

“It’s very convenient because it is a block and a half from the dance studio and it has tons of space in there, and what’s important to me is that it is downtown. We’ve always been a downtown business and part of that community. It’s easy to walk to or take public transit, with lots of things for the parents or guardians to do while they wait for their children at dance or now gymnastics,” explained Seamen.

There are two driving factors behind establishing this new gym; first is that as an adult, gymnastics became an interest to Seamen. She fell in love with the sport and practiced in London for ages. With an amazing coach she progressed from the beginner level and felt that she wanted it to have a larger presence in her life. Coupled with the fact that there is nothing available in Stratford while it continues to grow and felt that as there is a demand to be met locally, she decided to open the gym.

“I happily drive to London once a week to take my class, which is a big commitment. But then when you consider a child that is three or four travelling 45 minutes for a 45-minute class, it is a lot for a child as well as a lot for the parent or guardian,” she said.

The facility will be fully equipped with everything a gymnast could possibly want. There will be balance beams, multiple sets of uneven bars, the proper sprung floor, a vault and a tumble track with many different shapes and styles of mats for tumbling.

“We are starting out as a recreational gym. We won’t be going to competitions or anything like that yet. We are planning to offer classes starting at 18 months with a parent, all the way up to adult classes. I was surprised, we thought we would stop at the teenage level but since announcing this, we’ve had many adults reach out and ask if we would be doing open gym or classes for adults,” Seamen said.

There will be classes weeknights and weekends, with plans for incorporating pre-school drop-ins during weekdays so that people can come in with their children during the day, as well as open gym on weekends. The five coaches are all Certified Ontario Gymnastics coaches.

OnStage Dance Studio introduced an acro component to their competitive dancers training, which is essentially like the floor routine of a gymnastics performance. Lindsay Otto, who will be the head coach and club manager at OnStage Gymnastics Club used to run the acro component and is well educated as a coach.

The only thing needed to participate is form fitting clothing with long hair tied back. No prior experience is required.

“The nice thing about gymnastics is that if there is someone that is brand new the coaches can work to that level, or if someone is more experienced, we can coach to that,” said Seamen,

The anticipated soft launch will be in August with the exact date to come later. The website, www.onstagegymnastics.ca is under development with anticipated registration online availability of May 19. Regular programming will commence September.

“We are really excited to be able to bring this opportunity to our community, I think this is something the youth of Stratford really needs, it’s like the missing piece. We’ve got hockey, we’ve got soccer, dance, all sorts of stuff but the one that is missing is gymnastics and we are so excited to bring a true gymnastics facility that has a permanent installation of all the equipment needed,” concluded Seamen.

Interested applicants are encouraged to sign up for the newsletter for more information on the club at www.onstagegymnastics.ca.