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Island Twisters anxiously
seeks new practice space
for its aspiring gymnasts
Becca Pang trains a lot -- four hours or more a day, six days a week for the Hawaiian Island Twisters.
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She and fellow gymnasts are worried that her Kaneohe gymnastics club -- the only Junior Olympic National Team training center in the islands -- could cease operation for a while if it cannot find a new location by mid-October.
The club's employees and board members are frantically searching for leads.
"I want to be able to get a college scholarship," Pang said. "I'd be really scared" if the club shut down.
The Island Twisters were told at the start of the month that they would have to vacate a rented warehouse on Kahuhipa Street by mid-October. American Savings Bank owns the property, and spokeswoman Dawn Dunbar said there are no immediate plans for the space.
The club is one of the best on the island. Twister athletes boast several state, regional, national and international awards. The club's gymnasts have also been members of the Junior Olympic National Team and the Elite All-Star Team, and have gone on to accept full-ride gymnastic scholarships at Stanford University and Cal State Fullerton.
After more than 15 days of looking for a place to relocate, the club's board members say they have not found anything big enough that would fit within their price range. Parents are now in on the effort, too, querying friends and co-workers about potential new quarters.
"We've just been wandering around the island looking for something," said Susan Horowitz, Becca's mother and a member of the nonprofit's board. "We're definitely anxious."
The club has been in the 10,000-square-foot space, with 20-foot ceilings and a wide-open area for floor exercises, since 1998. To move, equipment worth thousands of dollars will have to be dismantled, which cannot be done until a new place is found.
More than 300 kids -- from elementary to high schoolers -- train at the club. Several are part of a competitive team, which includes a handful of top-level gymnasts. There are also evening classes for adults and morning sessions for toddlers and their parents.
Joe Rapp, Island Twisters executive director and head girls coach, said the club has five elite gymnasts vying for spots on national and international teams.
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But the nonprofit is working with a tight budget. Rent for the Kaneohe location was $6,000 a month, Horowitz said. With an increase in fees, the club could probably afford $10,000, she said.
"We're trying to pool resources," Rapp said. "We've been looking in town and all over the place. ... It's just so hard to find anything."
Meanwhile, Rapp and the club's board members are still not sure why American Savings Bank wanted the gym out.
Dunbar said the ouster stems from a city building code violation, cited more than a year ago, which the nonprofit club never fixed. She did not have more details.
But Rapp said he had never heard about the alleged violation and was told the club would have to vacate the space because there was not enough parking for patrons. Dunbar did say parking was a factor in the bank's decision to evict the club.
On the gym floor, though, classes continue.
And 13-year-old Marsa Inoue, who has been in the club for about four years, is hoping there is no disruption to her training.
"I like it when you get new skills and you feel like you accomplished something," she said. "If we don't get a new gym, I don't know where we could practice."