A competitive gymnastics program for boys is running in the Yukon again after a 15-year absence, giving young athletes a new opportunity to train at the Polarettes gymnastics club in Whitehorse.

According to reporting by CBC Yukon’s George Maratos, the program’s return depended on finding a suitable coach and enough space, rather than overcoming a lack of interest.

Kim Jones, the club’s executive director, told CBC that men’s artistic gymnastics requires different staff training. The club also wanted to build a program that could last.

“We didn't want to restart it and then have it die because a coach left,” Jones said.

The program is now being led by a coach identified in the report as Hall, a former Canadian national team member with two decades of coaching experience. He also won a medal at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse.

Hall connected with the club when Whitehorse hosted the Western Canadian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in the spring. He told CBC that the city’s gymnastics facility and the chance to build his own program helped draw him north from Calgary.

For Arthur Mauro, president of the Yukon Gymnastics Association, the return has a personal significance. He grew up competing in gymnastics in Whitehorse and previously coached the Yukon men’s program. His five-year-old son, Aldrich, is now among Hall’s athletes.

“To see that specific program start back up and exist for the next generation is a very big deal,” Mauro told CBC.

Hall’s longer-term goal is to help young Yukon gymnasts develop toward the possibility of representing Canada.

Sources