Interest in track and field, swimming and table tennis suddenly supersedes football, baseball and basketball for about two weeks every four years — when it’s time for the Olympics.
With the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro starting Aug. 5, one Gainesville gym is hoping public interest includes gymnastics.
Balance 180, located at 6527 NW 18th Drive, is holding its annual summer camp with the theme “Go for Gold,” according to the camp’s website. It will run for three weeks, from July 11 to July 29.
This will be the first time that Balance 180's summer camp will be held during a summer Olympic year, said Julie Foster, the camp’s operations director.
This year’s camp will also have more attendees than in the past. The first camp in 2013 had about 25 campers per week, but this year’s already has about 50 athletes per week signed up, Foster said.
The camp charges on a per-week basis. A full five-day week costs $185, and a full half-day week costs $115, according to Balance 180’s website.
A typical day includes gymnastics in the morning and afternoon, crafts and activities throughout the day, two field trips per week and one guest speaker per day, ranging from Gainesville Police officers to the camp’s own interns, Foster said.
One of the main ideas the camp promotes is including athletes who have special needs, according to the camp’s website.
In the past, about 20 percent of the athletes enrolled in the camp have had special needs, and a similar number is expected this year, Foster said.
She said the camp tries to assign 1-2 volunteers to each athlete with special needs and that they are still looking for more volunteers.
No gymnastics experience is necessary, and volunteers will work with the athletes to “help guide them through activities and just be a buddy to them, encourage them and cheer them on,” Foster said.
Natalie Ziev volunteers at Balance 180 during the year and focuses on the special needs program, or “adaptive” program. She said in the adaptive classes, some athletes with special needs don’t interact with other children, but that everyone mingles at the summer camp.
“Sometimes, for the first couple days of camp, they may not have ever seen a child who has special needs,” Ziev said of the recreational students, “but by the end of the week, they’re all hanging out together.”
Campers practice headstands at Balance180 Gym during the 2015 gymnastics summer camp.
