By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON July 14, 2010 – George Curran has a problem. The roof on the building he looks after needs to be repaired but George doesn’t have the money to do the repairs and he can’t borrow to pay for the repairs because, you see, George doesn’t own the building. The city of Burlington does. The gymnastic club uses the building and pays for the upkeep but there isn’t any rent, which sounds like a great deal but a bit of a problem if the roof is going to leak and you can’t afford to pay for the repairs and the owner of the building didn’t have a budget allocation for roof repairs.
George Curran is Manager of Facilities at the Burlington Gymnastics Club where he makes sure the place runs smoothly and that all the systems work the way they are supposed to work. “We had to install a heavier duty air conditioner a number of years ago and that meant bracing the roof a bit, but we got that done. With this heat – the girls sure appreciate that bigger machine on the roof”, added Curran
Kathy Kline has a significantly different problem, more like a challenge actually. She works under the roof that George Curran knows needs to be replaced. Kline’s focus is on the 25 or so gymnasts that range in age from about 8 or 9 to 18, who take part in the Peer to Peer Program offered by the Burlington Gymnastics Club. The all female group spends Friday afternoons at the gym working through different routines until they have them perfect.
“The program” explains Kline “is intended to build character and skill as an athlete.”
Chris Glenn, Acting Director of Parks and Recreation in Burlington is aware of the problem with the roof, he also very well aware of the program Kathy Kline runs and is delighted it is in place and pleased as all get out when an organization that draws 900 young female athletes to an annual event that takes place in one of the arenas he is responsible for and it doesn’t cost the city a dime. This is win, win, win for Chris Glenn. But about that roof? That will get taken care of and will be part of the new Joint Venture Agreement the city will put in place with the gymnastic club.
Last fall when the Executive Director of the Club, Betty Tate, appeared before a city council committee asking if the city would allow the club to sell their own Gatorade and power bars during the weekend Spring Cup competition the city had a bit of a problem.
Chris Glenn, Acting Director of Parks and Recreation, was in the process of entering into a new contract with a concession that would handle all food and beverage sales at the Central Arena. “All they wanted” explained Glenn, “was the right to sell the kind of treats and liquids they were good for athletes. This was an easy request to go along with. I could live with every request being that simple to fill.”
Parks and Recreation is about providing a service to the community. The challenge for Glenn is to provide that service within the budget City council approves; runs programs relevant to the community and do the longer range thinking that will position the city to be able to meet the needs of a changing demographic.
The link between the Peer to Peer class that Kathy Kline runs and the roof that needs repairs at the gymnastics club and the work Glenn is doing to put better Joint Venture agreements in place with the community organizations that provide services is pretty straight line – just a matter of following the dots.
The city of Burlington doesn’t have a soccer program or a baseball program. The city has facilities that are used by different groups that create the programs. “Burlington is a community where different groups of people set up programs and then work with the city to ensure that the facilities needed are in place. George Curran will explain to you that the gymnastic building was put up some 40 years ago by the city. “We use it and take care of it”
The parents whose children are enrolled at the Gymnastics Club are a resourceful lot. The scan the supermarket flyers and whenever Gatorade is on sale the word goes out and the parents buy the limit and store the stuff in their basements – come Spring Cup time they have a low cost inventory that generates revenue for the club.
Values, determination and constantly striving to do your best and reach new goals are a large part of the Peer to Peer program Kline runs along with her helper Jenna Gleza. “Character isn’t something you measure on a scale”, explains Kline. “A person isn’t a 1 or a 7 – character gets built over time and consistent interaction with adults and their peers. “I can tell in almost an instant if there is something that is bothering one of my girls. This is a very tightly knit group of kids,” adds Kline.
“The girls are expected to work hard and to be consistent in getting to classes. They are here to train and to become top flight gymnasts. Kline, who was an active gymnast in her younger days, understands how hard it is to complete some of the routines but “you master a skill by practice, practice and more practice”, explains Kline and “you have the constant support of your peers throughout your growth as an athlete.”
These young girls are not female “jocks”. There is a sense of determination in every routine they go through. They are at the gymnasium to become better athletes and in the process develop perseverance, depth of character and an ability to start something and follow though until the task is done.
Whenever a gymnast perfects a routine they run into a little closet space and pick up the cowbell that sits in a shelf and give it a little ring – everyone in the gym knows that the athlete has achieved a new level of perfection and they all share in the joy and the knowledge that they too will be supported by their peers. It doesn’t get much better than that.
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