An increased demand for gymnastics instruction has caused Johnson County Park and Recreation District officials to rethink how the space in the Mill Creek Activity Center is used.
As a result, the weights for the general public that occupy about a quarter of the 25,000-square-foot building will be removed and that area will be repurposed for gymnastics, said Kellen Jenkins, marketing and communications manager for the district.
The changes will take effect Jan. 1 at the activity center at 6518 Vista Ave. in Shawnee.
Gymnastics is already a major presence at the center, taking up the entire first floor with the exception of some office space. But the demand has grown while the use of the indoor track, weights, cardio equipment and studio class space on the second floor available to the general public has remained relatively small, said Lacey Fisher, corporate and community wellness manager for JCPRD.
The center has 40 fitness memberships for the non-gymnastics space, but about 200 kids are on the gymnastics wait list, she said. And those kids tend to stick it out on the wait list for about six months before trying somewhere else, she added. “They want to be here.”
The park district has from the parent-and-tot stages through higher skill levels for competition, with no age cutoffs, Fisher said. The activity center is also the home of the Kansas KIPS Gymnastics Team, offered by JCPRD. (A kip is a basic move on the uneven parallel bars.)
Although the popular programs at the center have always had a wait list, Fisher said some increase in interest may be due to the fact that the Sunflower League recently decided to discontinue its high school gymnastics program as participation dwindled and kids stayed in club gymnastics.
The weights will be auctioned off, but the cardio machines and studio space will remain for general use, and the 16-times-around-equals-a-mile indoor track will also be available, Fisher said. JCPRD will restructure the membership fees as well.
Some non-gymnastics activity center members have been disappointed by the loss of space, said Randy Kolman, a gym regular. The center has been an important place for members — many of whom are older adults — to work out and chat every now and then, he said.
“We’ve all been a little bit blindsided by it,” Kolman said, adding that the decision wasn’t preceded by public input or surveys.
“I want kids to have what kids need to have. I hate to be the sourpuss,” Kolman said. Still, he added, he would have liked it if the park district officials had given more notice and heard their thoughts.
Fisher said the members were notified of the changes in mid-October, and other fitness opportunities in the area were part of the decision. Five fitness locations are within a five-mile radius that accept insurance incentives such as Silver Sneakers, she added.
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