The staff and gymnasts at Kaua‘i Gymnastics Academy in Puhi joined the U.S.A. Gymnastics world in turning the world upside down on Saturday. “We had to coordinate with doing the handstands at 1 p.m., Eastern Standard Time,” said Dean Okayama,
The staff and gymnasts at Kaua‘i Gymnastics Academy in Puhi joined the U.S.A. Gymnastics world in turning the world upside down on Saturday.
“We had to coordinate with doing the handstands at 1 p.m., Eastern Standard Time,” said Dean Okayama, a father of a gymnast who participated. “That meant doing the handstands at 7 a.m. at the Kaua‘i Gymnastics Academy in Puhi.”
The Puhi gym, under the direction of Jack and Kay Leonard, joined other gymnasts and fans across the nation along with members of the cast of the Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions in attempting to surpass the world record of doing the most handstands simultaneously, according to the U.S.A. Gymnastics website.
“Last year, more than 20,000 gymnasts and fans nationwide broke the world record for most handstands,” says Steve Penny, president of U.S.A. Gymnastics, in a release. “We are thrilled that so many joined in our celebration of gymnastics and the incredible success of our athletes in London (at the Olympic Games), as well as raised funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.”
Kaua‘i gymnasts participating in the Saturday event were included in the 43,901 gymnasts and fans who broke the world record.
National Gymnastics Day builds awareness of the sport while supporting the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, states the USA Gymnastics website. Since 2001, gymnastic clubs across the country have raised more than $1.7 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
“I became involved with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals about 20 years ago, before I was even married or had children of my own,” said Mary Lou Retton, 1984 Olympic all-around champion and spokesperson for Children’s Miracle Netword Hospitals.
“As you can imagine, my life was completely changed forever after winning the Olympics in 1984. I was getting 25 to 50 phone calls a day just for charity work and appearances. After a few years of trying to do as many of those as I could, I decided I wanted to do more than just lend my name to an organization’s ‘letterhead,’ or send in an auction item. I wanted to make an impact — a difference.”
Kaua‘i Gymnastics Academy is the only gymnastics facility on Kaua‘i, co-owned and operated by Jack and Kay Leonard.
Located in the Puhi Industrial Park, the next session runs from Oct. 8 through Dec. 15 with registration ongoing.
Kaua‘i Gymnastics Academy features a new, 42-by 42-feet spring floor system and a 32-foot Air4Tumble track, states its website. Other equipment includes many different sizes and types of beams, a TrampTrak with a 10-by 10-foot bed, two sets of bars, four different sizes of back handspring trainers, including the latest back handspring trainer, The Boulder Handspring Trainer, a handstand trainer for bars, a pommel horse trainer, a mushroom trainer, a leg stretching devise and more, including an area designed for parents to watch and where siblings and early arrivals can play.
For more information visit www.kauaigymnastics.com or call Kay at 634-8697.
