NEW BUSINESS: NEW NAME, NEW OWNER

A downtown Cape Girardeau gymnastics training facility has a new name and a new owner.

Tammy Javier, previously of St. Louis, has purchased the Cape Gymnastics Center, 45 N. Main, renaming it the Elite Express Gymnastic Center.

The business was purchased from Bill and Sue Hopkins, who operated the downtown facility a number of years.

Javier, a gymnastics coach 12 years, has also participated in gymnastics and trained with Olympic Coach Bela Karolyi when she was 12 years old. She tried out for the 1988 Olympic Gymnastics team.

Javier attended Illinois State University on a gymnastic scholarship. She served as an assistant coach at Illinois State before returning to St. Louis to coach.

She has a degree in exercise physiology and athletic training from Illinois State.

The gymnastic facility, which includes about 16,000 square feet, features gymnastic training for boys and girls and includes preschool programs for people 18 months to 6 years old.

The facility has seven certified instructors and will feature morning classes for preschoolers and even classes for everyone.

The center, which also offers competitive team programs, is open until 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.