Crystal Lake Gymnastics Training Center makes plea to reopen facility

Crystal Lake Gymnastics Training Center has been closed for about 70 days and was forced to lay off 13 employees and five independent contractors because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CLGTC owners Sam and Lexi Redmond, which used to see some 500 young gymnasts walk through their doors each week, made an impassioned plea for help, not just for themselves but all small businesses, at Tuesday’s Crystal Lake City Council meeting.

In a Zoom call, an emotional Sam Redmond read his letter to the City Council, hoping it somehow will help small businesses reopen soon. The Redmonds asserted that they would have smaller classes and that their 20,000-square foot building allows for plenty of distance between athletes.

They just want to get CLGTC back up and running.

“I just want to be clear that we are not fighting science,” Sam Redmond said. “There are ways that small businesses can open at a reduced capacity and still keep from spreading this disease.

“There are [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines out there that show any business can open up and operate as long as they meet those guidelines. Why is it that we’re being held to a different standard than other businesses like Walmart, Menards or Home Depot?”

Redmond said CLGTC received a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the federal government, but since no one is working, there is no one to pay and the money will just be returned on June 8.

“That loan doesn’t do anything for us because we are closed down,” Redmond said. “There is nothing to pay our employees to do because they’re coaches. They coach gymnastics.”

The Redmonds purchased CLGTC from Lee Battaglia in October 2018. Battaglia still coaches with CLGTC and coaches the Prairie Ridge co-op team that won its fourth team state title in February. Lexi Redmond, a 2003 Crystal Lake Central graduate, trained at CLGTC while growing up and competed for Battaglia's club and Prairie Ridge teams.

Lexi Redmond has been working on upgrades at the facility while it has been closed. She manages the business, Sam handles the accounting, and also runs other family businesses.

“It’s hard. We’re shut down completely,” Lexi Redmond said. “Only a handful of our employees have a second job. I feel bad for our employees because there is nothing we can really do. We have enough money saved to pay utility bills and stuff like that, but we’re not bringing any money in.”

The Redmonds hope to get some relief on May 29, when Phase 3 of Restore Illinois starts. They have plans to keep CLGTC as safe as possible.

Already automatic soap dispensers and hand dryers have been installed. The Redmonds are in the process of purchasing ultraviolet lighting that kills germs. They have designed a schedule that staggers classes and will keep classes to a maximum of six gymnasts. They will increase what already was a vigorous cleaning schedule.

Also, they have allotted times between classes to clean the equipment, will have coaches and gymnasts cover their faces, and there are eight garage doors on the facility that can be opened for circulation. And if a gymnast comes to work out but has a fever, they will be asked to return home.

“We want to do more than what the CDC and McHenry County Department of Public Health require us to do,” Lexi Redmond said. “We want to go above and beyond what they recommend for the safety of our gymnasts.”

Sam Redmond said with the square footage, under CDC guidelines, CLGTC could have 176 gymnasts at a time, but it will not even try to get near that number.

“We have protocol beyond the CDC and McHenry County Department of Public Health standards, so why can’t we open?” Sam Redmond said. “That’s what I was trying to get across to the city council. I feel like nobody’s stepping up and voicing their concerns for small business owners. We pay $42,000 a year for that building in taxes and we’re not being represented at all in this case.

“Nobody’s looking out for us. A Fortune 500 company can go and get a bailout from the government. Those bailouts aren’t tailored to us, not customizable. Everybody has to fit into one box. We don’t fit into any boxes.”