Hills Gymnastics in Limbo

After 40 years, the Half Hollow Hills Gymnastics Workshop may have to shut its doors due to tightening space at West Hollow Middle School.

On Sept. 22, Anne Marie Marrone Caliendo, assistant superintendent for finance and facilities, sent a letter to Marissa Wharry, director of the workshop, writing that space constraints and insurance liabilities are forcing the program’s equipment to be moved out of the West Hollow gym by Oct. 14. Without a place to keep its equipment, the program may have to shut down.

The news has left the parents of more than 300 children in the workshop, shaken and scrambling to find a new facility.

“It breaks my heart to see my daughter have the rug pulled out from under her feet so quickly,” said Laraine Viviani-Fusaro, whose daughter Kristine has been in the program for the past five years.

The school district is attempting a balancing act of its own, trying to find space for the gymnastics equipment, while not impeding on the schools’ regular athletic programs that share the gym. It has offered to host the equipment outside, but weather conditions leave the materials vulnerable to rust and damage, Wharry said. It would also require the girls, some who are as young as 4 years of age, to carry heavy mats and beams in and out of the gym each night.

The children in the workshop have been highly successful in the sport, collecting numerous awards and sweeping competitions. Also, since the school district does not have a junior varsity gymnastics team, the workshop is often the starting point for young students interested in gymnastics. Many of the girls in the program go on to compete on the school’s varsity team. Wharry said that she worries the future of gymnastics in Half Hollow Hills will severely suffer without the program in place.

A large part of workshop’s appeal is that it is a non-profit program. Parents are now worried that they won’t be able to afford gymnastics classes since private instruction at outside gyms tend to be very costly endeavors.

The school district said it is continuing to look for alternatives in order to keep the workshop within the school’s facilities, but no plans have worked out so far.

With the Oct. 14 deadline quickly approaching, parents are feeling at a loss.

“It's done everything for my kids. It builds their confidence and it’s such a support system. They always have a place to go where they feel safe and motivated,” added Linda Matthies who has a 10-year-old and 15-year-old in the program. “Devastation is the only word to describe how they feel about the program ending.”