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Building for gymnastics future

Renovations begin as society settles into permanent home
Andy Rice

After 20 years, Powell River Gymnastics Society (PRGS) finally has a permanent home. Through a partnership with School District 47, an agreement has been made to allow the society to occupy the former Max Cameron Secondary School gymnasium for the long term.

While the rest of the school was demolished in February, the district spared the gymnasium specifically for use by the society. With cooperation of the City of Powell River, services were installed to make the gym a functioning standalone building, one the district will own and lease to PRGS.

For Joyce Percey, society executive director, the announcement comes as a bit of a relief. She began training young athletes in 1990 in the gymnasium of Kelly Creek Community School and for years, it seemed the growing society was always on the move.

Despite all of the location changes, not once has training been interrupted. “We’ve never stopped, we’ve never had a break, we’ve been continuous for 20 years,” said Percey.

Finding a permanent home has been a project of Dave Craigen, society president, for 15 of those years. Though he vows not to celebrate until the final documents have been signed and the keys are in his hand, his excitement is apparent as well. “I’ll be very happy the day we officially get it turned over,” he said.

Exterior upgrades are underway. A $120,000 grant from Powell River Community Forest is funding the renovations, which include new paint, new doors, covered entranceways and cement cladding on the back.

As per the conditions of the grant, the design utilizes natural timber, which will be clearly displayed on the building’s façade. Sand-coloured stucco covers the remainder of the walls with a red accent strip near the top and black trim around the windows and along the roofline.

Many long-time locals may remember the red and black colours of the Tartans, the school’s former sports team, or perhaps red bow ties from the old choir uniforms. The colours chosen by PRGS are purely a coincidence, said Percey, although she is happy to have them interpreted as a nod to the gym’s former use.

In addition to the most recent contribution from the community forest, Craigen acknowledged the city and the school. “Support-wise, that partnership has been huge,” he said. “As much as we have put into it to stay here, the school board has put into it to keep it here too, and the city has allowed all of that to happen.”

Plans are already in the works for interior renovations as well, including upgraded washrooms and a new foam pit. Just like all past renovations, these too will be made possible exclusively through grant money and volunteers. “Everything we’ve done inside, we’ve never used taxpayer [dollars],” said Craigen “It’s a neat hybrid thing. Some of the other clubs across the province and the country are going to be looking at what we’ve done.”

Several will get a chance to in January when PRGS holds trials competitions for provincial high schools. With the society’s newfound stability, such events will become more common in Powell River. “We can now bid on competitions that you need to bid on a year prior because we know we have a permanent facility now,” said Percey.

Big plans are underway for a busy 20th anniversary season, including an official opening celebration after renovations are complete in September. And while the Welcome To Max Cameron sign must soon come down, the walls behind it will keep plenty of memories alive.