Staff Members of

Seattle Gymnastics Academy, Inc.

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At any given time, there are 60 to 70 people working at SGA. This page gives you, the customer, more information about them than you might have picked up at Registration or in the bleachers! Also, posted on the walls of the gyms are pictures and brief biographies of the staff in your gym.

All instructors are idenitfied in the registration process by their initials, so here is a table you can to find out who is teaching the class you want:

President
John Sweeney

John Sweeney is the President of Seattle Gymnastics Academy, Inc. and the sole stockholder. John purchased SGA January 2, 1985 when the company, originally started in 1981 by two Russian immigrants, had 121 students. Since then it has grown to between 800 - 1,600 students. John holds a BA in Biological Sciences from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA in finance and operational systems from the University of Washington plus a Masters in Theology from General Theological Seminary. A former pilot (USAF), banker (Seafirst), and magazine editor (Stocks and Commodities Magazine), he now travels, trades and writes (articles and two books) when not supervising SGA's activities. John's interest in gymnastics grew out of his two daughters' (Meghan and Victoria) involvement as competitive artistic and rhythmic gymnasts from 1984 through 1992. When he's in town (and in most of the U.S.), John can be reached at 206 851 7367.

Registrar
Diane McDonald

Diane McDonald originally came to SGA as the mom of one our best gymnasts ever, Lily McDonald. She started "helping out" on the desk in 1987 and took over all purchasing for Aerial Apparel in 1995. She has been a Registrar since 1988. She holds a BA in History from Western and an MPA from Seattle University. "My children have been involved in gymnastics competitively and for recreation and it's been a wonderful experience. I love watching the sport. It's helped my daughters athletically and academically." Diane's usual hours are the mornings and early afternoons. Since she's seen just about everything in gymnastics she's a wonderful resource for everyone.

Lake City Team Director
Amy Linhardt

Amy Linhardt is the Team Director at Lake City, in the Glade Training Facility. She trained under Bob Tull at Oak Harbor Gymnastics for many years, often competing against SGA at meets in Western Washington. When she moved to Edmonds to attend Edmonds Community College, she joined SGA as an instructor and quickly rose to become Class Director. In 1996, Amy became both Edmonds Site Director and team coach. In July of 2000 she became Team Director at Lake City. She is very popular and her teams have done very well. Amy is responsible for all competitive activities at the Seattle Gymnastics Academy and she can be reached at 206 362 7447.

Other Lake City Staff...

Elaine Walker with some of her gymnasts.

Bookkeeper, Joyce Chaplin, is also Regional Chair for the Region II Rhythmic Program.

Jessica Brown is one of our ace competitive coaches at the Glade Training Facility