Coming full circle
As a student at Irondale Elementary in the early 1990s, Tiffanie Reed thought an after-school recreational gymnastics class seemed like the perfect place to expend extra energy. Reed’s talent for the sport quickly flourished as the class’ instructor, Debby Kornegay, invited Reed to her gym intensify her training.
“Tiffanie stood out the first day she took class,” said Kornegay, who now serves as Region 8 director for USA Gymnastics. “Birmingham WinGS had recently been sold to Tracye Miller, so I suggested they go there. Tiffanie was competing on the WinGS team in no time.”
Reed recently opened a gym of her own, with a theme that calls back to her roots in the sport. The name ARK WinGS pays homage to the gym where Reed got her start, but also to two churches that Reed regularly attends. WinGS stands for Winners In God’s Spirit, just as it did when Reed was a WinGS Team member as a youth.
“I was so glad Tiffanie wanted the pictures and named the gym ARK WinGS. It’s nice to see something that was so dear to me continue,” Kornegay said.
Before launching her career as a gym instructor and director, Reed spent time pursuing other sports, which included cheering at the collegiate level and dancing for the Atlanta Hawks.
Reed opened Ta Tumble U in 2012, which ultimately outgrew its space within the Trussville Civic Center. When the Trussville location of Ace Gymnastics opened, Reed was offered the position of gym director. Reed gladly accepted the position, knowing her 80 Ta Tumble U students would be better served in the expanded space made available by transferring.
When Ace of Trussville was consolidated into Ace of Birmingham, Reed saw an opportunity to maintain a gym presence in Trussville as ARK WinGS. Once the asset purchase from Ace was complete, Reed and her team went to work updating the interior of the new gym to represent the team’s rebranding.
A highlight in the new decor is a pair of wings that were painted by staff member and Pinson Valley High School senior Faith Potter. When graduating to the next level within the sport, students’ photos are taken in front of the wings.
Provided by Kornegay, several photos of original WinGS teams are on display in the new gym’s cubby storage room.
The church connection in her gym’s name comes from Church of the Highlands and Faith Community Fellowship, both part of the Association of Related Churches (ARC).
“The staff made a joke one day about how ARC helps churches get started and we help gymnasts get started. It fits in well with our theme, so we went for it,” Reed said.
Internally, the gym is beginning a movement called #SoARKward, which encourages gymnasts to stand out in a good way — shining their light with their skills, but also with their character.
“Also, we want students to know that we see this as their home. We send them out to be a representation of our gym. But the gym is our home, just like the dove being sent out from Noah’s ARK,” Reed said.
The renovations to the building include an elevated parent viewing section and a one-way viewing window installed on the first floor, which provides an unobstructed view to spectators while minimizing distractions to the gymnasts.
Preschool-aged classes are held in a separate room from the main gym floor, which helps reduce distraction from practices with more skilled gymnasts.
“Noah Warriors is our take on American Ninja Warrior, which is very big for our boys. It’s geared toward our 5- through 12-year-olds and we have a rope to climb, peg wall, ladder to cross and more. We also train with multiple school teams in the area and several Husky cheerleaders come here for individual training,” Reed said.
More than 500 students are currently enrolled in classes, which are offered Monday through Thursday, 4–7 p.m. Classes include cheer tumbling through Level 5 and recreational, compulsory and optional gymnastics training through Level 10.
“Tiffanie has done a great job with her athletes. She is a wonderful person and I’m proud to have been a small part of her life,” Kornegay said.
“Every time I see Deb, I let her know how thankful I am. That little after-school program made all the difference in my life and I’m so grateful to her,” Reed said.
Descriptions of all classes are available at ARKgym.com. Note that enrollment for classes is only listed if space is available. For those interested in classes that are not listed as active, registration on the waiting list is available through the website. Contact 655-4333 for more information.