Gymnastics Academy finds permanent home

Press Release

The Rainy Lake Gymnastics Academy has found a new home. The gymnastics club will be moving into a new location on Scott Street, in the building formerly home to the Royal Theatre and, more recently, Club 88. The Beyak Automotive Group recently acquired the building and the RLGA will be their exclusive commercial tenant. Renovations are projected to be complete in time for the start of the new gymnastics season in September 2021.

“We are so grateful for the generous sponsorship of Fort Frances GM, which was instrumental in allowing us to get our club off the ground in 2019. With this new partnership with the Beyak Automotive Group as our landlord, we hope to continue to offer a high-quality gymnastics program for young athletes for many years to come,” said Jessica Ogden, the club’s president. “While the auditorium at the Memorial Sports Centre was an ideal location for our first year, having a space to call our own will mean we no longer need to set up and take down our equipment every week.” This will no doubt be a relief to the coaches and hard-working parent volunteers who tackled this task last year, and it will also mean less wear and tear on the equipment.

Nick Beyak, President of Beyak Automotive Group, said, “It is an honour to deepen our partnership with the Rainy Lake Gymnastics Academy. The dedication of their board is commendable, and the club is a true asset to the town of Fort Frances. This investment will help to guarantee the sustainability of the Academy by allowing them to have a home to call their own.  Programs such as this are vital to the health and wellbeing of our youth, and enhance the quality of life in our community for everyone.” He added, “The Beyak Automotive Group has and always will support our community, and I sincerely thank the community for supporting us, allowing an investment such as this to be possible.”

“Thank you certainly does not seem like a strong enough sentiment to express our gratitude for the support Nick has shown us from the beginning,” stressed Ogden. “We look forward to working with the Beyak Automotive Group to develop the RLGA in its new location.”

The move will provide new opportunities to expand programming, purchase additional apparatuses, and host demonstrations in the future. As part of its growth, the RLGA is currently recruiting and training new coaches; anyone interested in coaching is invited to contact the club at rlgymnasticsacademy@gmail.com.

The Rainy Lake Gymnastics Academy is a non-profit organization incorporated in 2018, which offers a recreational gymnastics program for youth aged 2-18. Its inaugural season in 2019/20 attracted over 230 athletes from the Rainy River District, surrounding First Nations, and International Falls, MN. The 2020/21 season was suspended due to health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic but the Academy will resume operations in September 2021, provided the safety of gymnasts and coaches can be assured. Their Facebook page has all the latest news.

The Beyak Automotive Group includes Fort Frances GM, Sunset Country Ford, Dryden GM, and the Fort Frances Collision Centre. For over 30 years, the Beyak family has been committed to providing exceptional customer service and employee satisfaction, as well as strong support for the communities where they do business. These commitments have formed the foundation of their success. With over 100 dedicated employees, the Beyak Automotive Group is excited about what the future holds as they continue to serve and invest in the people of Northwestern Ontario. Learn more at www.beyakautogroup.com.