There is a safety concern for the children at Clayton County’s James Jones Gymnastic Academy. Coach James Jones expressed his worries after his older gymnasts, who have aged and grown bigger, often hit the ceiling while practicing.
“One of the boys was practicing a giant and his feet, you know, hit that silver bar right there, and I said, ‘OK, yeah we got to stop,'” Jones recounted to 11 Alive News.
Jones said his team, which he founded in 2019, is the only competitive all-Black boys gymnastics team in the United States. He now fears losing it if he doesn’t find a new location, which he has been attempting to do for over a year.
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“I’ve gone to warehouses, I’ve gone everywhere around south Atlanta, Clayton County, all of the cities, Jonesboro, College Park, Morrow, and I just can’t find a location that’s suitable for gymnastics, affordable, and that’s zoned for this use,” Jones said.
Because warehouses already have high ceilings, he is mostly searching in industrial locations. However, he claimed that Clayton County has consistently rejected his applications because gymnastics is prohibited in industrial zones.
Still, according to the coach, two of his rejected applications were close to other sports facilities.
“It’s just unfortunate, you know, that the county is saying that most of those warehouse are not zoned for gymnastics,” Jones said.
In a business neighborhood, he argued, the same size gym would be too costly. Some of his gymnasts train for free, but he usually charges families according to their income so that anybody can participate in the sport.
Jones is packing up as his lease, which he chose not to extend, expires, after he has tried everything to make the current space function, including intentionally removing part of the ceiling panels.
“I just thought that there was a need for it and there were boys in this area that would enjoy it,” Jones said.
According to a Clayton Co. representative, the properties Jones mentioned didn’t adhere to zoning regulations.
“The County is committed to working with Coach James or any applicant to find solutions in line with the County’s zoning policies,” the spokesperson said.
The County also stated that Jones withdrew an application before the board could evaluate it. Jones told 11Alive News that it was one of several applications he abandoned because he felt being in that area was not the right choice.
Even parents have found the search process frustrating, according to Coacoa Hinton, whose son, Taj, competes on the squad.
“It hurts my heart because these boys they deserve the chance to be able to go far in their dreams,” Hinton said.
Meanwhile, after talking to some of the Clayton County Commissioners and other local leaders in recent weeks, Jones expressed optimism.
He hopes that he gets settled close by, but in the meantime, the dedicated coach has created an online fundraiser to assist the team in finding the perfect residence as he continues to scout potential locations.
In an update on the fundraiser platform, the coach wrote, “We’re asking if you can help us relocate to south Fulton County, which is close to our area. We’ve found a building that is suitable for gymnastics. This building would be more expensive to secure because it’s closer to the city of Atlanta where commercial rental rates are more expensive.”
