Veteran coach opening new gymnastics club

Petra Ballantyne is banking on years of coaching experience and a predominantly adult staff to make her new Georgian Bay Phoenix Gymnastics & Acro Club a success.
?For the staff to be mainly adults is unique for most clubs,? the head coach said on Tuesday.
The Georgian Bay club held its first open house and registration night Tuesday at its location in Springmount across from Grey Motors.
?We?ve been doing a lot of work for the last six weeks at the site,? said Ballantyne. ?It all came together really quickly. It?s a bright building with good ceiling height and air conditioning, which is huge for the summer. And it?s a modern building.?
More registration nights are set for Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Jan. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Ballantyne was a provincial-level competitor at the Owen Sound Satellites Gymnastics Club as a youth. She went on to coach with the Satellites, the K-W Gymnastics Club and most recently at Dancemakers in Owen Sound before parting ways in the fall and beginning the process of opening her own club with her father Bill Bayley, who helped found the Satellites.
?He was one of the builders with the Satellites so he?s spent 35 years building the sport in the area,? said Ballantyne.
She?s convinced that the Owen Sound area has enough kids for three clubs to be viable. And the Georgian Bay club is also offering trampoline training which locally can only be found in Collingwood, Orangeville and Saugeen Shores. Only Dancemakers and Georgian Bay offer acro, which combines tumbling, partner stunts and dancing.
?I think situating out in Georgian Bluffs gives us another target market and lets us maybe draw in different kids,? said Ballantyne, who hopes to expand from pre-competitive athletes into the provincial level in the next couple of years.
?It?s definitely where our sights are set right now. It?s a lot of hard work so they have to want it too.?
The Georgian Bay club is offering classes for children as young as 18 months in such programs as kindergym and tumbletots to senior gym dance and senior tumbling, trampoline and acro.
Fees range from $130 to $290. There is also a $35 yearly membership fee. Family discounts are available.
For more information call 519-377-1189, visit the Georgian Bay Phoenix Facebook page or e-mail GBPGA@hotmail.com.
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Source: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/2013/01/15/veteran-coach-opening-new-gymnastics-club

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