Beckley YMCA to add new and unique offerings

Oct. 1—Since its construction in the late 1970s, the YMCA of Southern West Virginia has served not only as a place that promotes health and fitness, but also provides a space for community members to feel welcomed and at home.

Located in downtown Beckley, the YMCA has been an anchor to many in the community, young and old, said Jay Rist, CEO for the Y.

From toddlers and youths to young adults and seniors, Rist said the Y is meant to be a place that offers something for everyone.

"The Y has meant so much to so many people over the years from the time they came to Beckley in 1963, to the building of our building and opening up in the late '70s," he said. "(The building) is getting ready to be 45 years old, and we are continuing to revitalize it to create unique spaces."

To help meet the changing needs of the community, Rist said the YMCA has undergone a number of renovations and upgrades over the past two years.

"That's the only way places like the Y can continue to operate is to evolve with the times," Rist said. "Interests change, people's needs change but the one thing that the Y can be for everybody is a place that serves them across their lifespan."

Upgrades to the YMCA's Beckley facility began in March 2020 when, like most places, Rist was forced to closed its doors as Covid began to surge in the U.S. and the state.

Rist said he and his staff took that time to reassess the needs of the community as well as how the Y could meet those needs.

He added that Covid hit during a time of transition for the Y, which mainly stemmed from the death of Beckley native and billionaire Chris Cline, who was a significant supporter of the Y.

Before his death, Cline had donated $10 million for a proposed YMCA facility at the Paul Cline Memorial Youth Complex and had been successful in encouraging large donations from others as well as being part of a capital campaign.

However, for a number of reasons after Cline's death, Rist said they decided that it would be more feasible to update their current location than build a new facility.

"Covid was bad for a lot of reasons, but it also allowed us to get calibrated after pivoting away from the new facility," Rist said.

With this new plan in mind, Rist said he went to the previous capital campaign donors to see if they would allow the Y to redirect their funds to this new project.

Thankfully, Rist said most agreed to pledge their support to the new cause.

Since then, Rist said the Y has undergone roughly $1 million in renovations with even more planned.

As part of the first phase of improvements, Rist said the top floor of the Y, known as the Health and Wellness Center, was completely redone.

These renovations included new MATRIX free weight and cardio equipment, express lockers, LED lighting, unisex changing areas and sanitization stations.

"We've tried to make it very convenient for people to come in and do what they need to do," Rist said.

Rist said the lobby was also expanded and a lounge area created that overlooks the pools.

For phase two, Rist said an elevator was added, which the facility has long needed, Rist said.

"That's solving an issue that the Y's had for a long time," he said. "When the place first opened up, they actually had a chair system so you'd ride a chair from the top floor down to the middle and then you'd get on the next chair to the bottom floor, but all the kids would jump all over it and eventually it broke. So now, for 20 years I've watched our seniors or people that have trouble navigating steps, having to be let in the back door to access our facility."

Although they're still waiting on a few materials, Rist said the elevator is nearly complete and should be operational within a month or so.

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Rist said the next set of renovations will focus on the middle and bottom floors.

"Were redoing the middle floors and the amenities inside where we have the traditional locker rooms," he said. "Then all the way downstairs we're going to have kind of a gender neutral locker room area for families."

For the locker rooms, Rist said the saunas and steam rooms will be redone. There will also be renovations to the shower areas and other updates throughout the locker rooms.

Rist said the pool also needs some upgrades, most notably a new heater which has been on back order.

"In the East Wing, the group ex studio is going to be redone. The old weight room is also going to be redone into a multipurpose space and then we've got plans to do a bouldering center where the racquetball courts are," he said.

Rist said the bouldering center is similar to a climbing wall but without the height or need for harnesses.

"It will have geometric shapes that kind of curl around with the different handholds," he said. "So you can chalk up and you'll have crash pads too that will line the floor and you'll be able to climb the different trail lines of those walls, but you're only like 10 or 15 feet off the ground."

Rist said they also plan to add a new gymnasium to the building which will be used for pickleball, volleyball and basketball.

With all the updates and upgrades planned, Rist said the idea is to create new and unique spaces for the community.

"Inside our building, we've got to continue to evolve and that's kind of what we're aiming for, is unique spaces that nobody else has to offer that allow people to come and experience something different," he said. "When you go to the Y, typically it's the swimming pool or the basketball court, but we want to make sure there's more."