HOUSTON – Frustrations are building as parents of elite gymnasts in Houston said one company is behind drastic industry changes, leaving some gymnasts without a place to train.
From Houston Gymnastics Academy to Mazeika’s Elite Gymnastics, the complaints are the same.
“It’s not just one or two or three programs that have been shut down, it has been multiple programs,” Shannon Dickman said.
Dickman’s 9-year-old daughter competed at Houston Gymnastics Academy.
Another parent also expressed disappointment in the changes.
“We lost time and money by being misled on their intentions,” said James Radford, whose 12-year-old daughter competed level 6 at Mazeika’s. “We were led to feel pretty comfortable. We met a new coach who promised us nothing would change.”
Both gyms were recently acquired by Powers Gymnastics, a company operating one of the largest networks of USA Gymnastics certified gyms. The company also recently acquired Rowland Ballard Gymnastics, which has two locations.
Powers Gymnastics’ Linked-in profile states they “roll up gymnastics facilities and manufacture and lease Ninja Warrior Obstacles.”
KPRC 2 reported on Wednesday how parents were upset, saying Powers Gymnastics is dismantling elite women’s gymnastics programs after HGA announced they were eliminating their women’s team and focusing on the men’s team.
“At the higher levels these girls are training 20-30 hours a week,” Dickman said. “This is a huge part of their lives.”
KPRC 2 spoke to a person with Powers Gymnastics, who didn’t want to go on camera, but sought to clarify the changes.
The representative explained that some of the company’s locations around the country are moving away from the women’s Junior Olympic Program and towards the less competitive option called “Xcel.”
They said Mazieka’s Elite Gymnastics is closing its Willowbrook area location and merging with another local gym but did not specify which one. They said now, only the Atascocita location will have competitive gymnastics but at the Xcel level, which isn’t geared towards gymnasts training at the elite level.
They further explained that less than a dozen gymnasts at Rowland Ballard were competing at a level 8 or above, which is considered elite.
On the phone, the co-founder of Powers Gymnastics told KPRC 2 that communication could have been better.
“We will continue to work on our communication, and we apologize for any frustration that the communication has caused,” the company said.