That’s the case Hayley Silberg, founder of CAPTivate Adult Gymnastics, made on the latest episode of Back to Basics. Silberg co-founded CAPTivate in Calgary in 2018, and the all-adult gymnastics club has since grown to roughly 300 athletes training across multiple Canadian provinces. She’s also a two-time World Gymnaestrada athlete and coach, with a third trip already underway.
What Is World Gymnaestrada?
World Gymnaestrada is a non-competitive gymnastics festival held every four years. There are no judges. There are no scores. It is, in Silberg’s words, gymnastics for the love of gymnastics.
The numbers back up the comparison to the Olympics. More than 20,000 participants from over 50 countries take part, with an average age around 35. Some competitors are toddlers, still in diapers under their gym suits. Others are in their 80s and 90s, some performing from wheelchairs with adaptive routines. Every four years, the event brings together every age group and every level of ability under one roof, or in this case, one stadium.
“It is bigger than the Olympics, including every sport at the Olympics. You will see kids aged two years old, literally wearing diapers underneath their gymsuits on the floor. And then you will also see silver-haired rock stars who are in their 80s, even 90s, even in wheelchairs, even with adaptive disabilities, all levels of ability doing group routines together.”
Hayley Silberg, CAPTivate Gymnastics
From Selfishness to a National Movement
CAPTivate didn’t start as a business plan. Silberg was coaching youth gymnaestrada teams and filling in when a teenage athlete was injured or absent. She loved it enough to want the same experience for herself as an adult, and it didn’t exist yet in Calgary.
“I think like most good business ideas, it stemmed from selfishness. I wanted something for myself. It didn’t exist, so I started it, and now it’s grown bigger than I could ever have possibly imagined.”
Hayley Silberg, CAPTivate Gymnastics
What began as one weekly performance team in 2018 has expanded into a club offering women’s artistic, men’s artistic, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics, and performance programming, all without CAPTivate owning a single facility. The club rents space from 18 host gyms across Canada and schedules its adult programs around existing youth classes, running morning sessions for shift workers and retirees and evening sessions once the kids clear out.
Lisbon in 2027, Then Las Vegas in 2031
The next World Gymnaestrada takes place in Lisbon, Portugal, from July 11 to 17, 2027, the city’s second time hosting the event since 2003. CAPTivate’s Worlds team is already in its two-year training cycle, and Silberg says the team now includes online participants from across Canada who train remotely and meet the group in Portugal days before the event.
The bigger headline for North American fans: World Gymnaestrada is coming to Las Vegas from July 7 to 13, 2031, marking the first time in the event’s history it will be held outside Europe. The 19th edition will spread across eight venues, including T-Mobile Arena, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Mandalay Bay Beach, and Fremont Street, after Las Vegas beat out finalists Helsinki and Antwerp for hosting rights.
For clubs in the United States and Canada that could never justify the trip to Europe, Vegas changes the math entirely.
Gymnastics Without the Toxic Culture
Silberg is direct about what draws her back to Gymnaestrada every cycle: the complete absence of the pressure that can define competitive gymnastics.
“You’re not encouraged to train through an injury, or there’s no pressure to achieve a certain skill by a certain time. It’s really gymnastics for the love of gymnastics.”
Hayley Silberg, CAPTivate Gymnastics
That philosophy extends to how CAPTivate approaches its adult athletes generally. Silberg says coaching adults is a different job entirely from coaching kids, not because adults are less capable, but because they’re often more guarded. When an adult celebrates landing a new skill, or admits they’re scared, it carries more weight.
“When an adult is overwhelmed with excitement because they’ve just learned a new skill or overcome a big fear, it feels more powerful,” Silberg said. “It’s more powerful to have an adult whoop and throw their arms in the air because they just stuck their first cartwheel on beam than it is to have a kid do that, because it’s so much less socially acceptable for an adult to celebrate outwardly in that way.”
Why Adult Gymnastics Is Growing
CAPTivate isn’t an isolated story. Adult gymnastics has been one of the fastest-growing corners of the sport, and Silberg believes the appeal goes well beyond fitness.
“Don’t just do it for your physical health, do it for your mental health. You would not believe the self-esteem and resilience that you will build within yourself by getting into a gymnastics club with a group of people that support you wholeheartedly, and stepping outside your comfort zone. When gymnastics is done correctly in this really supportive environment, it is the best thing you can possibly do for your mental health. And that’s what adult gymnastics is all about.”
Hayley Silberg, CAPTivate Gymnastics
How to Get Involved
Silberg says the path into Gymnaestrada doesn’t require a home club with an existing program. Athletes can join a mass routine, a country’s “World’s Team” made up of individuals from multiple regions, or reach out to their national gymnastics federation directly to start one.
CAPTivate is active on Instagram at @captivate.gymnastics, with regional accounts across Alberta, Manitoba, and Australia. Full program details and World Gymnaestrada team information are available at captivategymnastics.com.
Hear the full conversation with Hayley Silberg on Back to Basics, available now on GymnasticsVille’s podcast page, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. For more on the growth of adult and elite gymnastics, visit our Elite Gymnastics coverage.
Last Updated: July 31, 2026
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