It’s now more fun than ever to play at the YMCA — specifically the Newman YMCA branch in Seekonk (472 Taunton Ave.) following the opening of a brand new gymnasium floor at the club, which services much of the surrounding region, including East Providence.

The celebration of the new floor was observed during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

“I am incredibly excited to celebrate the completion of the new gym floor at the Newman Y,” said Dennisse Medina, Executive Director of the Newman Y. “The gym is one of the most frequently used spaces by our members. I have already seen how the newly renovated space has elevated the member experience.”

The old gym floor was, according to reports, around 30 years old, and had gotten into a state where it was nearly preventing the facility from using it for activities.

“The gym floor itself, it was a long time coming,” said Karen Santilli, CEO of the Greater Providence YMCA. “It had gotten to the point where the water damage essentially made the gym floor unusable for any kind of sports that we like to support.”

Now, Santilli said the Newman YMCA is ready to host a variety of programs on the new floor, from youth activities and sports, to the variety of programming options offered to senior citizen members. In total, there are 22 group exercise classes, dance classes, before and after school programs, summer camps, and special events that will utilize the space.

“In that gymnasium we do chair yoga with senior citizens, and the floor will be safer for them to walk on. We have our kiddos from the childcare program doing activities and it will be safer for them,” she said. “When we painted the new gym floor lines, we painted lines for pickleball, so we’ll be able to support our members who want to play pickleball indoors for no additional cost. Hopefully those added benefits will encourage more people to join the Y.”

Additionally, Santilli mentioned that the Newman YMCA is one of the branches offering enrollment into the Jr. Celtics program beginning in November, which provides children ages 5-15 with the opportunity to learn basketball fundamentals and build confidence while encouraging physical activity. Those interested can sign up here.

Santilli said that, in the wake of Covid, being able to offer these opportunities for healthy exercise and regular socializing is especially important for the area’s youth. She said that recent numbers have been encouraging in terms of memberships and activity at the region’s YMCAs, and the new gym floor will hopefully help that momentum continue to grow.

“I think we’re still working at it but even within the last six months we’ve already seen growth at all of our branches for membership programs, as well as the number of kids enrolled in our out of school time programs,” she said. “We’re still working very hard at it to meet the needs of the community and our members but I am very encouraged by the growth numbers we’ve seen in the last six months.”

The work on the gym floor was funded through a grant in excess of $300,000 from the Champlin Foundation, as well as additional funding from The Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAs, which utilized some of its remaining ARPA money.