Thursday, December 26, 2024 at 9:25 AM
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YMCA remodels, restocks, reopens for members

An instructor leads a class through stretches in a Boerne YMCA class. Star photo by Jeff B. Flinn

The Boerne YMCA remodeled and opened its new look earlier this year, giving members new equipment and a renewed attitude of family, fitness and fun.

“Right after Covid is when we began the talks of remodeling,” Selma Angelucci, Boerne YMCA executive director, said. “Right now, we’re in talks about growing the facility, about how we make our footprint a little bigger.”

Angelucci has been with Boerne YMCA for 19 years — the past seven in the facility at 820 Adler Road, the past four as its director. “It has been my home away from home, and I love this place,” she said.

The remodel took shape during one week prior to Christmas. “We shut down for a week and got everything done in just that small window of time,” she said.

All money spent was the result of fundraising, primarily the organization’s Turkey Trot — an annual 5K-10K, one-mile walk held the Saturday before Thanksgiving on a course that wraps around Boerne’s Main Plaza.

“We have remodeled our whole floor. We’ve extended our free-weight section, we brought our Precor machines — for legs, for glutes, for arms — down from upstairs,” she said.

A couple work with one of the Boerne YMCA trainers during an open house session at the Y, which recently remodeled.

“We put all of our cardio, the treadmills, the bikes, the rowers, the ellipticals, upstairs, and added some brand-new Schwinn bikes for our cycling class.”

New hand weights and hack squat equipment, as well as a fresh paint job, round out the Y’s new look.

During a recent 10 a.m. visit, the Y was buzzing with activity: there were Les Mills’ Body Pump and Body Combat classes, a cycling class, as well as reform Pilates, Zumba, and yoga classes, all offered in 45 minutes to one-hour sessions.

The Y is looking toward the rapidly approaching spring break as a time to reach out to families, especially with its ChildWatch program.

'We’re here for families. Our children are in our child-watch area and that’s when we have group classes for adults,” she said. “We have 55 to 65 classes a week, and we start off with classes at 5:30 in the morning.”

Included in the price of membership — $21 per month for teens, $54 per month for adults, $99 for families, $45 for seniors — is the Y’s “ChildWatch” program, which gives parents a break away from young ones, a chance to work out without having to worry about what the toddler is getting into.

ChildWatch is offered from 5:30 a.m. to noon. Classes start back at 4:30 p.m. and ChildWatch reopens at 5:30 p.m., both running until 8 p.m. before the Y closes at 9 p.m.

Angelucci said the ChildWatch program offers parents the freedom to work out and know their children are in a safe secure environment.

“For the mother, we take her little one into Child-Watch, where she now has two hours that she is able to attend a class, read a book, take a shower,” she said.

“I had the best thank-you from a new mom who said it was the first shower she’d had in days without having to worry about who’s going to take care of her baby while she showers,” she said.

“If they just want some ‘me-time’ — just want to sit in here and read a book, or work on the computer — as long as you’re in the facility with your child, we take care of them from six weeks to 6 years old,” she added.

The remodel was funded entirely by the YMCA, a nonprofit that can offer scholarships to cover memberships, working on a sliding scale based on income or financial hardships.

Upcoming Y events include a March 2 “Parents Night Out” from 4:30-8 p.m., and an Easter egg hunt March 23 from 6-7:30 p.m.

The Boerne YMCA offers 55-65 adult classes daily, including yoga, reform Pilates, Zumba and cycling. Star photos by Jeff Flinn

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