The Markham Gymnastics Club was founded by Paul and Charlene Knudsen in September, 1978. It was the first permanent gymnastic facility in Markham and one of the first of its kind in Canada. The club was an early success and has had a significant influence on the growth of gymnastics in Ontario.
Over the years we have produced both Provincial Champions in Men’s and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics, and a Women’s National Champion. We have competitive athletes that compete at the Interclub, Provincial and National levels.
Markham Gymnastics Club offers lessons in recreational programs through to National Stream Competition. Training hours of individual gymnasts range from 1 hour per week to 22 hours per week. We teach both boys and girls, ranging in age from 2 years to 16 years old.
In addition to artistic gymnastics, we also run programs for Power Tumbling and Cheerleading. We have some “special needs” classes for children with autism and other difficulties, and have provided cross-training for athletes in other sports such as diving, skiing, martial arts, tennis, figure skating and dance. We also run birthday parties twice per week which includes time in the gym with one of our qualified coaches and use of the lounge. In addition, we have numerous schools which visit for field trips and electives programs.
Our philosophy and approach to teaching gymnastics to children and athletes has been to include everyone. All of our participants and their parents and our coaches are treated with mutual respect. We try to make a child’s gymnastics lesson the highlight of their week by encouraging their progress at their own ability. We try to nurture a child’s self-esteem by treating them with dignity. Essentially, we operate under the “Golden Rule” and treat children as good or better than we would expect coaches, teachers and other adults to treat our own children. We have an excellent safety record and have earned an excellent reputation in the community.
Parents bring their children to Markham Gymnastics Club not only from the Markham/Unionville area, but from all over the Greater Toronto Area. Our members keep coming, because our facility and programs are top-notch. We even have former Markham Gymnastics Club members who are now bringing their own children to us for training.
For the parents and visitors, there is a comfortable lounge and viewing area with a two-way mirror that allows the parents to see how their child is being coached and demonstrates the quality of the lessons. They can observe their child’s training at all times without distracting the children in the gymnastics classes, or just relax and read or chat with the other parents while they wait for their child to finish their class.