BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, reaches for a rope as she navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, reaches for a rope as she navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Keondre Dawson navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Allie Jackson, 9, makes her way through an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Elizabeth Lindsay, 9, makes her way through an obstacle at an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Keondre Dawson, 11, makes his way along a tightrope course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, right, high fives Megan Bond, left, after completing the aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Hayden Severs, 10, reaches for the next rope at an aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Emma Duncan, 9, practices on a tightrope lower to the ground at an aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: A view from the start of the aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA, pictured on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
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BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, reaches for a rope as she navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, reaches for a rope as she navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Keondre Dawson navigates an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Allie Jackson, 9, makes her way through an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Elizabeth Lindsay, 9, makes her way through an obstacle at an aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Keondre Dawson, 11, makes his way along a tightrope course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Aveonah Jones, 10, right, high fives Megan Bond, left, after completing the aerial adventure course at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Hayden Severs, 10, reaches for the next rope at an aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: Emma Duncan, 9, practices on a tightrope lower to the ground at an aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD, VA – JULY 12: A view from the start of the aerial adventure park at the Bedford YMCA, pictured on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Bedford, Va.A
BEDFORD a Completing the newly opened Bedford Area Family YMCAas Aerial Adventure Park was a big deal for 10-year-old Hayden Severs this past Thursday.
aAt the age of three he fell from a tree stand and had a brain injury,a his mother, Kathy Severs, said. aNext time I want to do something taller and longer.a
Hayden was one of about 40 kids from the Power Scholars Academy in Bedford, a summer school, who came to the complete the course Thursday afternoon.
The new aerial park, completed in June, is open to members and non-members of all ages for team-building, birthday parties, and just all around outdoor fun for a nominal fee.
The YMCA chose to invest in an aerial park rather than high-tech fitness equipment because it wanted members, kids and the public to experience a unique experience outdoors.
On Thursday Dwayne Abbott, sports and outdoor adventure director at the Bedford YMCA, along with three other staff members, aided kids ages 7 to 12 through the course and helped them strap into their harnesses and hook into the belay system. In the woods below, there are 11 more team-building elements.
aEach element will pose a problem to the group and they have to work together to solve the problem,a Abbott said.
Mary Jo Boone, CEO of the Bedford Area Family YMCA, said the course cost $40,000 to construct which was covered in part by a $10,000 grant from the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation, $5,000 from the Bedford Community Health Foundation, funding from the Virginia Department of Educationas 21st Century grant and other raised funds.
Although there is a challenge course at Lynchburg College, a ropes course in Roanoke and an aerial park located in Virginia Beach Boone said the new course is unlike any other in the country because the YMCA was able to pick and choose what kind of obstacles it wanted to offer.
The YMCA, which sits on 36 acres off U.S 460, is an asset many donat realize is available to the small community, Boone said.
Abbott said he encourages each kid to at least try a portion of the course.
aWe urge every kid to try it and a big selling point is, aHey when is the next time youall get to do it?aa he said.
Gracie Ewing, 9, was completely fearless hitting the aerial park Thursday afternoon.
She said she has done this kind of thing before and loves heights.
Her favorite part was crawling through the culvert tube but said the chaplin rings were the hardest.
Boone hopes the new course, along with all of the other programs the YMCA offers will push kids out of their comfort zone and away from their electronic screens to grow physically and mentally.
aWe try to get unique and creative,a she said.
