River City Inclusive Gymnastics provides positive environment for people with disabilities
RICHMOND, Va. — River City Inclusive Gymnastics (RCIG) is a 501(c)3 local Richmond non-profit organization that provides a safe and positive environment where children, teens, and adults with disabilities can improve their social skills, motor skills, and self-esteem through group gymnastics and fitness training.
Started by Special Education teacher Michael McGrath back in 2016, Michael saw a need for his students to have meaningful interactions with their peers outside of school and to have more fitness opportunities in a fun and inviting atmosphere. Needing space, he rented a few hours of gym time from River City Youth Fitness in Manakin-Sabot in 2016 and held his first class. His first class was a success and soon he rented more gym time to meet the growing demand. Despite the pandemic, last year RCIG served 82-99 athletes a week and saw their waitlist grow to over 114 athletes! With the desire to have no waitlist and to serve even more athletes, RCIG started a fundraising campaign last year and raised enough funds to realize their dream of having their very own sensory-friendly gym!
RCIG classes are specifically designed for individuals with special needs ages pre-school thru adult but are also open to neurotypical athletes as well. Classes are one hour weekly for 8 weeks. RCIG runs six, 8-week sessions per year. Each class is designed to engage each athlete both physically and mentally and is set in an obstacle course format. This provides an optimum opportunity to instruct 1:1 while keeping the class of 5 athletes engaged. Athletes are challenged weekly to facilitate coordination, strength, endurance, communication, and social skills. Adaptations are made on the spot in order to meet the needs of each unique athlete.
The build-out of RCIG’s new gym began last December and will be completed this month. “The tremendous success of RCIG is due to the dedication of our amazing coaches, staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to make RCIG’s Core Values: Always Adaptable • Always Approachable • Always Having Fun a reality” states McGrath.
RCIG invites you to join them in the Grand Opening Celebration of their new gym at 11248 Patterson Avenue in the Tuckahoe Village Shopping Center on Saturday, April 2, 3pm-5pm. Meet Kat Simons from MIX 98.1, enjoy a slice of Marco’s pizza, meet the coaches, tour the new gym, and more!
For more information about classes, volunteering with, or supporting RCIG, visit their website at www.rcig.org.
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