COEUR d’ALENE — The 20th Great West Gym Fest gets underway this morning with about 1,200 athletes.

It will be four days of action on the balance beam, bars, vault and floor exercises for girls ages 6 to 18 through Sunday.

It means the dedication and skill of these young gymnasts will be in the spotlight.

It almost didn’t happen.

“We didn’t think for months we were going to be able to do it at all,” said Dave Adlard, who along with wife Lisa is again the organizer of the event at The Coeur d’Alene Resort.

It actually would have been much easier — and saved money — to just cancel it, like thousands of other events, due to coronavirus restrictions.

“But that’s not what we wanted for the kids,” Lisa Adlard said Wednesday as she and Dave surveyed the vast Resort ballroom as they tried to determined where the holding areas would be for the teams.

Both joked about finally having the Great West Gym Fest routine down after 19 years, only to have to develop new protocol this year.

“We keep saying, ‘Normal? What’s that?’” Lisa said, laughing

“I mean, there’s just no normal this year,” Dave added with a smile.

The North Idaho couple pulled it off, but not without paying a price, the main one being, there will be no spectators allowed inside to create more space for separation of athletes. Family and friends will have to watch smaller sessions via live stream.

The loss of entry fees meant the loss of about 40% of their income, but the Adlards were determined.

They also canceled the Big Show, the finale championship where top gymnasts compete again in front of an estimated 1,000 spectators.

Dave Adlard, also a chef who operates Candle in the Woods with Lisa, said the sacrifices were worth it for the kids and downtown Coeur d’Alene.

“The relationship with The Resort and the people downtown was a large part of why we did this,” he said.

“If we can break even this year and keep the momentum going and keep that relationship going, it seemed like something we had to do,” Dave Adlard added.

He said similar competitions around the country were canceled due to COVID-19. When Idaho entered Stage 3 of Gov. Brad Little’s Idaho Rebounds plan, it allowed larger events as long as they submitted an operation plan to the local public health district confirming the event will follow necessary physical distancing and hygiene protocols.

That’s when the Adlards believed they could put on the Great West Gym Fest and went for it.

“We can at least do it for the kids,” Dave said.

Once word got out, the response was overwhelming.

“As soon as we said, ‘We’re hosting Gym Fest the entries started coming in. The people were so excited and glad to have an opportunity to come,” Adlard said.

Most competitors are from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Utah and California.

Olympic gymnasts Jake Dalton and Jonathan Horton are expected to be in town, along with Barclay Stockett, gymnast and American Ninja Warrior, as Gym Fest VIPs.

Volunteers jumped in, too, responding to a social media request from the Adlards for help with Wednesday’s set up at The Resort.

“We’re going to get it done,” Dave Adlard said.

To watch the action on live steam, visit greatwestgymfest.com.