About Us
Winnipeg Gymnastics Centre - A Brief History
The Winnipeg Gymnastics Centre was founded at its current location in 1977 by Wolfgang and Elfriede Goermann. After 25 years of operation it has achieved a success record that is unparalleled throughout Western Canada producing 3 Canadian Olympic Team members and many other national and international level competitors.
Mr. & Mrs. Goermann immigrated to Canada from Germany in the late 50's. While both were gymnasts in their youth and had retained their interest in the sport, Gymnastics training was not their original livelihood. Mrs. Goermann was an optician and Mr. Goermann ran a small masonry company. Once in Canada, Mrs. Goermann quickly became certified as a Gymnastics Judge and has been active in this role from 1960 to present. She achieved Brevet Judge status in 1975 to 2001 qualifying her to judge International and Olympic level competitions.
In 1968 Mrs. Goermann began coaching Gymnastics part time for programs organized by the YMCA and City of Winnipeg. It was their daughter Monica's interest in Gymnastics that prompted them to open their own training facility and thus in 1977 the Winnipeg Gymnastics Centre was born. The club was Mrs. Goermann's full time passion while Mr. Goermann continued to divide his time between it and his masonry business. The first few years were difficult but membership continued to grow and in 1981 the club became Mr. Goermann's full time interest as well.
Throughout the years the club has run a full range of programs for kids ages 3 and up for both boys and girls including kindergym, recreational and competitive. Peak years have seen more than 400 gymnasts. While most of the members have been girls, the boys program has seen as many as 120 gymnasts and was at one time the biggest boys Gymnastics club in the city. The club has produced many champions. These have included Canadian Olympic Team members Monica Goermann, Bonnie Wittmeier and Kathleen Finnegan as well as International and National Champions and Competitors Julie Hall, Pattie Morrison, Shannon Rogers, Kate Booth, Colleen Johnson, Tanya Hembroff and, currently Joeanna Leung.
In 2001 the club entered a new era when it was purchased by the club members. It is now a non-profit organization run by a volunteer Board of Directors, a Club Administrator and a Head Coach. While this may be a significant change on paper, the quality of the programs at the club remain unchanged. As head coach, Elfriede continues to define the quality and content of the programs.
Mrs. Goermann brings a resume of coaching and judging experience that is unmatched. She is NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program) Level 4 certified (the highest attainable). She has been the Canadian National Team coach no less than 9 times. In addition she has held many other National and International coaching positions including World Team Canada Coach, Canadian Olympic Team Assistant Coach, World Champion Assistant Coach, and other national and provincial coaching positions many, many times. She has been named the Manitoba Coach of the Year 3 times and has served on many Provincial and National judging and technical committees. In 1986 the Canadian Gymnastics Federation awarded her a life membership and in 1987 she was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.