After weeks of online training, children return to gymnastics

Pam Turner opened Airborne Gymnastics and Dance in 1991 in Longmont. On March 12 of this year, the business had over 1000 students between two locations in Longmont and Frederick, and around 75 employees.

That Thursday evening in March, the leadership of the gym met to discuss the recent disturbing news about the novel coronavirus. Turner said, "We were really struggling with the decision" of whether or not to close.

They ultimately decided to remain open, but woke up on March 13 to find that all the schools in the region were closing.

"Nothing like this has ever happened to me and my business. It's been such a rollercoaster. Good news, bad news, good news, bad news," said Turner.

Closing the gyms was their only option on March 13, and it meant that Turner had to lay off all but seven of her 75 employees, "some of whom I've known for 30 years," she said.

The remaining shoestring staff immediately began building an online program, which launched within a week of closing the physical facilities.

While Turner said, "You can't just put a 5-year-old in front of a TV on a Zoom call and expect them to be able to be super engaged," she said, "We definitely had some success" with online learning.

That is true for the Cooper family of South Longmont, whose children have been regulars at the gym for over a decade. Owen Cooper's two daughters, Audrey, 13, and Natalie, 10, both started attending classes at Airborne when they were around 2 years old.

Before the pandemic, Natalie was in the preteen program, attending classes twice a week.

After the shutdown, Cooper said, "Natalie took to [the online courses] right away. I wouldn't say she enjoyed it more than going to the gym, but she was very diligent. And she used their online workouts two to three times a week, at least."

Cooper continued, "In terms of her strength and conditioning, she's made more advancement in the past three months than she had in the past year. Because she was doing this multiple times a week and was just focused on it."

Online learning wasn't ideal for everyone, though, and gym owner Turner said "At some point it was kind of heartbreaking because it was so hard for the teenagers especially to be so disconnected."

Airborne was able to reopen on June 1 under new summer camp guidelines. "My staff and I got together and set up all kinds of protocols and guidelines," said Turner, and at first, only around 25% of the former number of students returned.

Natalie Cooper is back in the gym two times a week, and her father Owen noted, "They are bringing in-person training back in what I consider to be a safe manner."

There are many protocols in place around social distancing and sanitation, including proper ventilation and utilizing multiple entrances and exits for the high-ceilinged, 25,000 square foot gym in Longmont.

The regulations and restrictions are robust, while also allowing for the unique needs of the sport. Coaches and staff are required to wear masks, but masks are optional for students.

"Doing gymnastics with a mask on is not safe," according to Turner.

The future of any business during this time is hard to predict, and as for Turner's personal outlook on her own nearly 30-year-old organization, she said, "I'm hoping to not go bankrupt."

"I'm going to do the best I can to find students who are comfortable coming out."

Turner has increased the staff up to about a third of pre-coronavirus numbers, and Airborne has seen a gradual but steadily increasing number of students, now around 350. Turner is accepting new students and said, "I've had quite a few students that have never been here before sign up for classes and camps."

"Right now I've got about 25 employees who are also depending on me, so I need to give it the best shot I can," she said.