a peek inside the fishbowl

I am thrilled to introduce a new patron to the Fishbowl family this week. The Ottawa Gymnastics Centre (OGC) is the oldest operating not-for-profit gymnastics organization in Canada and has been part of the Ottawa community since 1960. It’s been part of my family’s life for many years. We love what they do there, and how passionate they are about the sport as well as the health and well-being of their young charges.

Both of our girls have a few years of recreational gymnastics under their belts. It really is a great program. As a parent I always felt that they got so much out of it: strength, confidence, stamina, poise. There are countless benefits. I always watched their classes with a bit of wonder. During their recreational classes they happily got to rotate through a bunch of the equipment (three cheers for variety!) and ended their time completely exhausted and looking like wrung-out sponges. (The biggest hallmark of success was the fact that they always slept like bricks.) I was especially impressed with the young school-aged boys I always saw there. Talk about having energy to burn. If I’d had boys I would have definitely enrolled them in gymnastics.

I feel like I should mention that it’s not just about competitive gymnastics at OGC.

Did you know that they also host birthday parties for kids age 3 and up? We’ve been to a few parties there and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s really the perfect place to host a gathering of rambunctious kids. Where else does one have an opportunity to jump, climb, leap, and roll like this?

What else is there at the Ottawa Gymnastics Centre? Well, quite a bit as it turns out. There are:

• Gym babies classes (6 to 10 months)
• Babynastics (10 to 15 months)
• … and adult drop-in recreational classes too. (Mondays and Wednesday 8:45 to 10:45 p.m.) (!!)

Winter registration starts on November 6, and you can register online too… which is a huge bonus. Check out the OGC website right here and follow them on Facebook to get the latest scoop!