UPDATE - September 26, 2020
 
We miss you all so, so much! We are hopeful that we will be able to open in January, but only time will tell. We are committed to opening only when it is safe to be around people without masks, and without social distancing.

A huge thank you to everyone who has reached out to us…your kind words brighten our spirits in this challenging season of life. We love seeing your videos, pictures and posts. Please continue to send them!

We will keep you posted regarding our re-opening. Until then, stay safe and be well.

Warmly,
​
Talya 


To the community:

Dear Hampshire Gymnastics Families,

I hope this letter finds you healthy and safe as we weather this pandemic together. In the 46 years since Hampshire Gymnastics opened, we've never been through something like this...and it is indeed one of the most difficult challenges we've faced. Like many of you, we are asking ourselves what life will be like moving forward. Will we ever feel like our normal selves again? Will businesses survive? Will our gym survive? Will our community be able to recover from this economic wound? What will our children remember about this time? I find myself oscillating between grief and gratitude. In one breath I'm so incredibly grateful for the health of my family and the time I get to spend with them, and the next minute I'm grieving - wondering when I'll see all the smiling faces of the kids in the gym again.

I know many of you are anxious to get back to gymnastics as soon as possible, while others will move forward cautiously. We have spent hours upon hours carefully considering every aspect of what running a gymnastics school looks like during this epidemic. We've spoken with other gym owners, parents, trusted friends, doctors and athletes. We value and respect everyone's opinions, expertise and advice. While we support every effort that our community makes to return to some form of normalcy, we feel it is not in the best interest of our staff, students and families to open our doors until we feel safe - until we can stand near each other without masks, until we're not using hand sanitizer between every turn, until life feels somewhat normal again.

The measures that we would have to take to open 'safely' are not conducive to a positive and fun learning environment. Practicing difficult and dangerous skills when our minds are preoccupied with social distancing and sanitizing is not safe. In addition, we don't have the physical space to comply with all the guidelines set forth by the CDC. We don't want to spray our gym with chemicals every hour and, most importantly, we don't want our staff, students and families putting themselves at risk of contracting the virus.

We realize some of you will be gravely disappointed. Some of our competitive team kids have dedicated their lives to gymnastics. Our staff have dedicated their lives to teaching gymnastics. All I can say is that I'm grieving with you. This is not a decision we came to quickly. We understand that it may take months or years before we can return to 'normal'. We remain hopeful that it is sooner than later. We understand the ramifications of our decision.

We know of gymnasts that have lost a parent from COVID-19. We cannot, in good conscience, open our doors and risk people's lives.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us over the past several weeks. We know that we will be back and we are dedicating all of our resources towards making sure that we can re-open. You'll still see my Dad on the lawn mower outside - and I'll be posting pictures on Facebook of the cleaning and projects we're doing on the inside of the gym. In the meantime, please stay healthy and safe. Send us pictures and videos of all your backyard/living room gymnastics...it brings us so much joy.

We will continue to evaluate our ability to reopen as we move forward and we'll keep you updated.

I'm happy to chat with you personally (by phone or email) if you have any questions.

We will make every effort to give credit to everyone who paid for the time missed when we re-open.

Sincerely,

Talya (Anne and Norm)
​

413-256-6990
We are the VERY FIRST gymnastics facility to install one of these airbags! The company is Bagjump and we LOVE LOVE LOVE them! Check out the installation video below.

This is how we create a competition vault landing surface over our pit. It takes about 15 minutes in real time. Here's the time lapse version. My Dad designed and built this system in 1985!

Posted by Hampshire Gymnastics School on Wednesday, April 29, 2015