Gymnastics club closes after almost 4 decades, leaving father hoping to raise $100K

The Stampede City Gymnastics Club has shut its doorsafter helping youth athletes for 38 years, but a Calgary dad is doing flips to get funding in place to reverse the decision.

Balwinder Marwaha saidthe economy took a toll on registration in the last few years, and the not-for-profit gym wasn't generating enough revenue.

He was heartbroken for his six-year-old daughter, who has been training at the club for the last two years, when the club ceased operations on Tuesday.

"You know nobody wants to see that, especially when it comes to kids," Marwaha told CBC News.

"There's about 800 kids that train there on a weekly basis, that's a lot of parents and families that don't have a place to call home anymore. So if we could get the community and maybe some corporate sponsors to come together and help save this gym, then everyone will still have a home."

Marwaha has launched a crowdfunding campaign with an ambitious goal of $100,000 to help get the club back on track. As of late Thursday, four people had contributed a total of $300.

"There's competitive athletes that train there over 20 hours a week and that's their life," he said.

"That's what they eat, sleep, train is gymnastics and the relationship they have with their coaches, the families that have been involved for years and years, it was very hard on everyone. There were a lot of tears," he said of the Tuesday closure.

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