Gymnastics Club moves to former High Plains parts building

With steady growth in the first four years of its existence and the need for more space to serve the talents of area tumblers, the Carrington Gymnastics Club (CGC) is on the move once again.

The club will now occupy its third different location, as founder/owner Tammy Sorensen has purchased the former parts building of the High Plains Equipment dealership at 6719 Highway 200 for the organization’s new home.

Sorensen said her team has been in action at local meets since beginning practice session was in August, but the upward potential trajectory of the club’s membership dictated that a move was in order.

“This year, we have more gymnasts competing than ever before,” said Sorensen. “During practice, we would split into groups, but we just didn’t have enough space to work on drills and skills at the same time.”

Previously, the club was headquartered at Milestones Early Learning Center, which Sorensen and Milestones operator Whitney Carter incorporated as Tots and Tumbling, LLC, in April 2022. The team’s workout space was in the sanctuary of the former Church of the Nazarene, where the club relocated following its initial stint renting space at the Rusty’s Hardware Hank building (now Central City Wellness Center) on Main Street.

Sorensen and her family, including husband, Erik, and her three oldest children, daughter Nevaeh, and sons, Noah and Karson, began working on the club’s new digs during the Thanksgiving holiday. Youngest son, Kolton, was also around to help as much as he could.

The team moved in officially this past month.

“We’re still working on tearing things out, such as counters, walls and electrical, but we have moved into the far back warehouse as construction will be ongoing for quite some time,” she says.

The High Plains building was purchased entirely through the club’s general funds, without the need for grants or loans.

More space and more offerings

The move more than doubled the CGC’s available workout space, as they will now have 6,600 square feet as opposed to 3,100 at the Tots and Tumbling building.

She added that the biggest consideration taken when purchasing the new space was ceiling height, which allows students to practice uneven bars.

New amenities, says Sorensen, will include more balance beams, another set of bars, and the possibility of ninja/parkour additions. Parkour is an agility-based activity which involves navigating urban obstacles from point to point through acrobatic jumps, flips and climbing, and has existed since the mid-1990’s.

“Our future plans are to offer a variety of classes besides just basic gymnastics,” she says. “I will continue to do recreational classes as well as the competitive teams, and will be adding strength and agility classes, hopefully in the summer.”

Sorensen aims to add more coaching staff to help with recreational classes, and a website is in the works and will be up and running soon. She added that in the future, all registrations will be processed online.

Recent history of the Gymnastics Club

The modern incarnation of the Carrington Gymnastics Club began in 2019, when Sorensen formed the club with six students at the vacant Hardware Hank storefront. The club is a revival of the former gymnastics club dating from the 1970’s, which was located at the building on the north side of the present Bessette Motors (then Jim Vetsch Motors).

Since that time, Sorensen is proud to announce that the CGC has its highest-ever numbers at 18 students.

“This year, I also started a training team for those who are looking to compete in the near future,” she added. Currently, there are 10 kids in that group.

While recreational class enrollment goes up and down during the seasons, Sorensen has had as many as 100 children enrolled for a session.

The CGC’s potential for growth has spurred hopes for Sorensen that the community could be in line for big things with the sport down the road.

“Our biggest goal in the future is to host a meet,” she says. “I’ve been asked by other teams in the state if we would consider it. This goal is a few years out yet, but I do think it would have a great impact on our community.”

Those interested in enrolling their child in the Carrington Gymnastics Club, or for more information on the various classes to be offered in the near future, may contact Sorensen at 701-650-6095, message her via Facebook, or e-mail her at [email protected].