Off Fairview Avenue in St. Paul, a new gymnastics facility has a bit of everything. One side of the gym has high-level training for the University of Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics Club, and on the left of the gym are mini pads and toy tunnels. The facility is a new home for the club.
The facility — which the Friends of Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics helped open — is known as Foundation Gymnastics and is at 655 Fairview Ave.
Gymnast Owen Frank performs on the pommel horse as longtime assistant coach Bob Wuornos watches during practice at the new home of the University of Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics Club in the Fairview Business Center in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
There are three dedicated spaces — a preschool area, a space for the University of Minnesota men’s team training, and a section for the uneven bars and the high jump. The facility is open to all levels of gymnastics, with recreational practices and children.
Mike Burns, the head coach for the club, said they looked at a few buildings in Northeast Minneapolis and places near the U but chose the building in St. Paul because it met the 20-foot ceiling height requirements for equipment such as the rings.
Burns said the new building is helpful because it is near the university, and the mix of gymnasts at different levels is a good way to motivate everyone.
“We have a high-level men’s gymnastics team training in the same space that these little kids will be doing their gymnastics. They’ll have some upper-level gymnastics that they can kind of be exposed to and watch while they’re doing their stuff and give them a chance to think, ‘Oh I could maybe do that someday,’” Burns said.
University of Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics Club head coach Mike Burns uses a heavily padded crutch to help gymnast Ben Letvin maintain his posture on the rings during practice in the club’s new facility in the Fairview Business Center in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Series of changes for team
The men’s gymnastics club has gone through a series of changes that started in 2020. Men’s gymnastics was removed from Division I status that year by the university’s Board of Regents. According to Burns, the team moved from Division I to club status and continued under the campus life program.
When the team became a club, they received funding from the Friends of Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics, a nonprofit.
After the team’s Division I status was removed, Burns said, there were immediate effects in participation, but the club was slowly able to increase team members, from seven in 2020 to 26 this year.
“It impacted it initially, but I think it’s kind of a great destination for gymnasts that want to continue to do gymnastics at the college level, at a very high-level institution. So I think we’re pretty attractive for guys that aren’t able to get onto an NCAA team. We have a great option for them here,” Burns said.
With a wall of championship banners as a backdrop, gymnast Luke Pedersen performs on the parallel bars during practice at the new home of the University of Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics Club in the Fairview Business Center in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Looking for a new home
Burns said the team was asked to leave their original space in Cooke Hall in 2024, after the U decided to renovate the building for the diving team, the kinesiology program and RecWell activities. The same year the team was asked to move out, they won second place at GymACT nationals.
For Ben Letvin, a junior with the club, the loss of Cooke Hall was almost like losing a home.
“Cooke Hall was kind of like a safe haven for men’s gymnastics at the University of Minnesota. It was a historic place,” Letvin said. “I mean, the men’s gymnastics team had been practicing there for about a hundred years before the university changed the use of the space. So, it was kind of just a shock.”
After that, the team moved around to different training facilities in areas like Mini Hops in Plymouth, North Shore Gymnastics in Maple Plain, and Twin Cities Twisters in Champlin.
For junior Jack Gagamov, president of the gymnastics team, moving around was a struggle at first. People had to meet at different times during the week.
Gagamov said he’s excited for the team to have its own facility again, to build culture.
“It’s a team sport. So being able to bounce off of each other’s energy is really important to be able to hit routines. I think understanding who you’re competing for every day in the gym makes a really big impact on the outcome of your routines,” Gagamov said.
Gymnast K. J. Richardson, right, shakes hands with head coach Mike Burns after his high bar routine during practice at the new home of the University of Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics Club in the Fairview Business Center in the Midway neighborhood in St. Paul on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
A sense of community
Andrew Winslow, a freshman athlete on the team, said the new facility helps build a sense of community with the mix of recreational and professional levels.
“I think it’s a great opportunity, honestly. We still get to keep that long-lasting history of being the Minnesota Men’s College of gymnastics,” Winslow said. “Having this facility double for rec classes and other purposes such as private lessons or one-on-one coaching, even in the future of making a junior men’s club gymnastics team that will go out and compete just like we do, but at the junior Olympic level, I think it’s all really exciting.”
Micah Winder, a freshman with the team, said the location was convenient, especially for students.
“I like how close it is to my apartment and how close it is to campus. It’s a lot of time and gas saved,” Winder said.
The facility opened for the team in late October and is now open for recreational lessons.
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As Burns balances classes with younger kids; he and other gymnasts are preparing for their Maroon and Gold intrasquad set, a way for the team to test itself before major competitions.
The team also will have home competitions in early January and February at Shakopee High School and Humboldt High School, respectively. The MN GymAct Invitational also will take place at Humboldt High School on Feb. 14.
For more information on the Foundation Gymnastics facility, go to foundationgym.org.
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