ABOVE: Equipment is set up at the Fairmont Armory for Fairmont/Martin County West combined gymnastics. While school competition in gymnastics does not start until winter, the equipment has been set up now for community education programs. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – The Martin County Area Magic has moved from LiveFit to the Fairmont National Guard Armory for their practices and games moving forward.

The move, officially approved at Monday’s Martin County West (MCW) School Board meeting, also extends to gymnastic offerings through community education programs.

Martin County West (MCW) Superintendent Cori Reynolds said the agreement to host gymnastics at LiveFit started at 2020 and was for a five year lease. The discussion for what to do moving forward started over a year ago.

“We knew heading into the 2024-25 school year that we were winding up the lease, wrapping it up, and that we would need another plan,” Reynolds said. “We looked at a number of options, you know, everything from trying to come up with a new agreement with LiveFit to remain there, a new space, we looked at a number of options.”

When looking at the options, Reynolds said a big thing was working through their schedule.

“The gymnastics program is far more than the varsity season,” she said. “We run gymnastics through our Community Education and Recreation Department. We run it year-round for gymnasts of all ages. Getting our arms around the schedule and that we would be ideal.”

There were conversations with LiveFit, and while they decided not to continue their arrangement, Reynolds said they appreciate LiveFit for what they were able to provide for both school districts.

When it came to making their final choice, Reynolds said the Armory checked all of their boxes.

“The right kind of space amount and type of space,” she said. “They had a calendar that was open enough for us to be able to keep it very similar to what we’ve been using. It was at a price point that was very comfortable for us. It sounds like it really met their needs as well, being a revenue stream for them.”

The Armory space is larger than LiveFit’s, which Reynolds said will come into play for meets.

“At LiveFit, not all four events were able to fit into the back part of the facility,” she said. “During competitions, it had to spill out into the gym area. I don’t believe that will be necessary here.”

There will be times the equipment will need to be taken down and set back up to correlate with the Armory’s current schedule, which Reynolds said they can plan for.

“We’re going to tap into all available resources, including the families of our gymnasts, some of our buildings and ground staff,” she said. “We’ve worked out a schedule with the armory, so we understand and know ahead of time when it does need to come down and can go back up. We’ll do what we have to do as grown-ups to provide great opportunities for our students.”

This agreement with the National Guard Armory will be for one year, which Reynolds said gives them a test run to see how well this arrangement can operate.

“It gives us all a chance to see how this works,” she said. “Doesn’t lock us into anything that’s too long. Also gives us some stability so we’re not interrupting the season. With our building project and things, we don’t know what kind of options might be available once the new school here is built.”

The process will begin in late winter/early spring, where the school districts will compare notes with the Armory and National Guard to see what both parties will want to do moving forward.

This will be the 16th year the schools have fielded a team together, having started with the 2009-10 season. By collaborating with Fairmont School District on this, Reynolds said she is excited to continue offering this opportunity.

“I’ve gone to at least one gymnastics meet every year that I’ve been in this position,” she said. “It’s always really fun to go and cheer the girls on and see how much they’ve improved year over year. To be able to do that in a little bit larger space, with a little more elbow room, is going to be really exciting.”