Cypress Academy - The Original

Cypress Academy was established in 1982 by my parents, Richard & Mary Ann Basham. While they didn't know too much about gymnastics, they loved children and saw the positive impact that gymnastics was having on my sister, Laurie, and me. In the beginning, Cypress Academy was a 5,000 sq. ft. building with just one of each Olympic apparatus and a single dance room on the second floor. The rings hung from the ceiling over the 40' x40' floor exercise mat that seemed to take up the entire gym. In 1984, with the Los Angeles Olympics around the corner, my parents expanded the facility to 11,000 sq. ft. With the U.S. men’s and women'’s successes, there was a great demand for gymnastics. As the business continued to prosper, they found themselves needing even more room. In 1992, they expanded to 15,000 sq.ft., and in 1995, expanded a final time to 30,000 sq.ft.