Asheboro, North Carolina's Randolph Gymnastics Academy is a Perfect Site for a Birthday Party

My son just turned five and we had a birthday party for him at Randolph Gymnastics Academy in Asheboro, North Carolina. There were eight kids and 15 adults at the birthday party and we could have had three times that many people at the facility. My son had a wonderful time, the guests seemed really to enjoy themselves and I would recommend this as a birthday party site to anyone.

We got the idea for having a birthday party at Randolph Gymnastics Academy earlier in the summer. The coach of our son's T-ball team owned the facility and we had a season-ending party there and everyone had a blast. Kids that age have so much energy and a gymnastics facility is a perfect place for kids to run wild.

Randolph Gymnastics Academy is a large, rectangular building with all of the equipment necessary for gymnastics, cheerleading and tumbling teams. As for birthday parties, the main assets are huge spaces for running and soft mats to land on for the inevitable crashes.

And did I mention the pit?

By far the most popular thing at our birthday party was the pit. There was a four-step staircase leading up to a horizontal bar that I'm guessing is for practice for the uneven bars. Anyway, at the bottom of the bar is a pit with a trampoline at the bottom, but one which is covered by hundreds (perhaps thousands) of six-by-six inch square foam blocks. If you fall off the bar, you land safely in the pit of foam blocks.

Of course at birthday parties, kids don't "fall off" the bar. They take running leaps into the pit or climb the stairs and jump directly into the foam blocks. The kids had such a good time that even I had to try it. I can state from personal experience that you don't feel anything when you land among the foam blocks.

The blocks also make excellent throw toys, and the kids and I had a lot of fun tossing the foam grenades at each other.

The pit was a lot of fun. The only problem was getting out. It's difficult to maneuver once you are in the middle of the action. You have to virtually swim to the edge and then lift yourself out. The other adults were concerned that I was not going to be able to get out of the pit. Not that they were worried for my personal safety, mind you. Rather they were concerned they would have to exert effort to extract me from the blocks. But I was able to get in and out with little problem once I made it to the edge.

If you are looking for amenities, then a birthday party at Randolph Gymnastics Academy may not be for you. Basically, all they did was allow us to use the facility. They provided a room with a view of the floor which included use of a refrigerator, along with long folding tables and chairs.

We provided snacks and refreshments for our birthday party, which ran from 2-4 PM. The lack of amenities was not an issue for us but it is something to keep in mind, especially if you want to have a party for older kids who may require more things to keep them interested.

Randolph Gymnastics Academy provided one person to supervise our birthday party. She was a very friendly individual who helped with both set up and clean up of our event and she did an excellent job of keeping watch while the kids were playing.

Some individuals might prefer to see more staff on hand, but I felt like with all of the adults present that we had more than enough supervision. No accidents occurred at our birthday party.

The cost of having a birthday party at Randolph Gymnastics Academy was very reasonable. We had exclusive use of the facility for two hours for $100 and this was on a weekend day. The site also allows parties lasting for 60 or 90 minutes, but I felt like two hours was a perfect time.

Located five miles east of Asheboro, Randolph Gymnastics Academy is a great place for a child's birthday party. Right on Highway 64 and close to Highway 22, people from Greensboro, Siler City and Pittsboro could be there within 30 minutes.

John and Tana Dunlap run Randolph Gymnastics Academy. Those interested in hosting a birthday party or joining one of their gymnastics, cheer or tumbling classes can view their Web site or call 336-610-4742. Best time to call is after 5 PM on weekdays.

If you live outside of this area, you should consider contacting your local gymnastics facility to see if they can host your birthday party. If it is anything like Randolph Gymnastics Academy, you will not be disappointed.