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When the doors open at the YMCA east centre, located in the newly renovated building that used to house Future Shop on Victoria Avenue, celebrations will include not only the grand opening of a third YMCA centre in Regina, but will also mark 125 years of the YMCA’s service to the city. When the citizens of Regina founded the YMCA in 1890 and were teaching calisthenics in churches and town halls, they could not have imagined all the innovations and changes that would be a part of the modern centre opening this month. The east centre includes a 4,000-square-foot space dedicated to physical literacy, featuring a sprung floor, ropes, rings and monkey bars, and a special challenge unique to the centre. “We want to make going to the gym new and fun. We have balance beams, parallel bars, climbing ropes, monkey bars and rings. As well, we have four warped walls with heights of eight feet, 10 feet, 12 feet, and 14 feet,” said Emma Hicks, YMCA senior director of Health, Fitness and Membership. New programs will debut at the east centre that will complement the great new space and equipment. There’s a fully equipped fitness centre and a stretching/ yoga studio, and all the spin bikes are Bluetooth enabled. As well, membership with the YMCA gives members a chance to use all the facilities in Regina and provides drop-in privileges at YMCAs across Canada. “The community aspect is huge. All of our centres have unique features and our members can use all the facilities. Your east side YMCA membership allows you to access the downtown pool, and so on,” said Hicks. The new YMCA will be home to creative and fun-based physical fitness classes for all ages and it will offer a space for drop-in workouts and additional social programs. By expanding its facilities, the YMCA is also expanding its reach in the community and engaging more people with its vision to be the premier values-based builder of health, leadership and personal development in the city. “The success of the YMCA starts with the people involved. Our priority is that we have something available for everyone — families, individuals from all walks of life. When we sit down to talk about new ideas, we are always focusing on how we can serve our community best,” said Hicks. The YMCA prides itself on being open to all, and is dedicated to building healthy communities. Here in Regina, the brand-new east centre is an exciting new way to achieve that goal. “We provide great value and great value-based programming for our members,” said Hicks. Formoreinformationonthenewest YMCA location, how to sign up for programs or how to get information on the YMCA’s 125-year history, visit http://www.regina.

ymca.ca/ or call 306-757-9622.