‘I’m devastated:’ Edge Gymnastics in Kanata begins long road to recovery as Ottawa continues storm cleanup

The club is facing about $850,000 in repairs and a months-long closure after the Canada Day rainstorm damaged the floor, walls and equipment.

Nearly two weeks after the Canada Day rainstorm flooded homes, businesses and community organizations across Ottawa, recovery efforts are still underway. Among those picking up the pieces is Edge Gymnastics in Kanata, where floodwaters forced the club to close and left months of repairs ahead. What was once a busy gymnastics facility is now being stripped back to concrete as crews removed contaminated flooring, drywall, and damaged equipment from the nearly 13,000 sq. ft. gym.

Owner Connie Groom says the damage is extensive and expensive. “I’m estimating that my loss is probably around $850,000,” Groom told CTV News Ottawa. “The equipment alone... my floor is like $110,000.”

Groom says she first checked the building the night of July 1 after receiving a call from a parent but found nothing unusual. When she returned the following morning, the gym was flooded. “I walked in the front door, and it was, like, sopping wet,” she said.

“As I walked through, I was walking through about an inch of water through my whole building.” She later learned that nearly a foot of contaminated water had flooded much of the facility. “It’s devastating,” Groom said.

“I’m heartbroken because I worked so hard building that family and building that place where people feel safe.” The gym is expected to remain closed for at least three to four months while repairs continue. Groom says the closure has created uncertainty beyond replacing damaged equipment.

Edge Gymnastics employs 16 staff members and typically serves about 150 athletes through its summer programming, which has now been cancelled. She is now searching for a temporary location where athletes can continue training while the building is restored. On Sunday, many athletes and families made their way to the facility, seeing the damage for the first time and offering their support to Groom.

“It gives me goosebumps,” she said. “I can’t appreciate them enough. It just reinforces that the family we’ve built and the commitment from our families is pretty special.”

She remains determined to reopen. “This is not going to be the end of Edge Gymnastics,” Groom said. “It’s going to be the beginning of something new... and I’m going to fight for my families and get them back.”

City offers recovery support Edge Gymnastics is one of many properties across Ottawa still recovering from the July 1 storm. On Sunday, the City of Ottawa hosted a community information session at Ben Franklin Place, alongside the Insurance Bureau of Canada and the Canadian Red Cross, to answer questions about insurance claims, cleanup, financial assistance, and available recovery resources. “As much as this is an opportunity for us to give information out, it’s another way for us to assess impacts and figure out exactly what it is that residents need,” said Kris Haarbosch, the city’s emergency management coordinator.

“We’re here to answer questions but also hear what else we can be doing.” Residents attending the session said they appreciated being able to speak directly with experts about the insurance claims process and other available supports. Upcoming information sessions: Haarbosch notes the city is trying to get the Insurance Bureau of Canada to other information sessions, but says “at the very least, we’re going to have a lot of information from them left behind so that residents can access their programs as well.”