Entries Tagged 'club governance' ↓

Despite the awful economy, many Gymnastics clubs in Ireland have waiting lists. And they are anticipating an Olympic bump in membership.

Newly announced Olympian Kieran Behan is generating a lot of publicity.

Renmore, Galway

Links and photos from my visits last week on RecGymnastics.com.

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A few pics of the facility. It’s the top floor of a building conveniently right beside the train station. In Japan you must maximize use of valuable space.

This gym has more air matting than any other I’ve ever seen.

Some things are the SAME in every gym. The smell. And a cluttered collection of grips.

see more photos

P.S. … the tidiest gym I’ve ever seen is run by Wolfgang & Elfrida Goermann, the Winnipeg Gymnastics Centre. Here’s their story.

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Gymnastics Queensland:

A new report has found Queensland gymnastics and trampoline clubs need to improve safety for sport participants. …

… the risk of contact with all possible hard surfaces was controlled in only 8 per cent of facilities.

… nine recommendations to boost safety at clubs

New report aims to boost safety in Queensland gymnastics clubs

It’s now been over 2yrs since the death of adult recreational gymnast Michelle Maitland who hit her head on concrete at Townsville Gymnastics. Nothing can bring her back. But this report — released the day before what would have been Michelle’s birthday — might help prevent future catastrophic injury.

My friend Mike Outram survived after hitting his head on concrete.

Surely the very first thing coaches must do in any facility is make sure it’s impossible to hit concrete or steel. Long term, we need modify all foam pits to suspended systems, the best being the Jim Walker design.

Here are the 9 recommendations:

1. Gymnastics Australia should review the level of training, assistance and monitoring provided to clubs to implement the Club 10 program. This review should include the methods of monitoring compliance with, and implementation of, the program.

2. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, Sport and Recreation Services and Gymnastics Queensland should research how to link improved safety outcomes in the sport of gymnastics with the funding and non-financial support provided by SRS.

3. Gymnastics Australia should review their GA lesson plan template, in consultation with its members, with the view to developing a lesson plan template that includes coach positioning and key safety controls. Consideration should be given to sample lesson plans for each apparatus and level.

4. Gymnastics Australia should conduct a training needs analysis and ensure that access to coach accreditation and professional development courses is available.

5. Gymnastics Australia should research and develop methods to assist gymnastics clubs to conduct risk assessments, specifically in the use of gymnastics apparatus.

6. Gymnastics Australia should review the Club 10 equipment maintenance policies and procedures with a view to achieving greater compliance with Club 10 documenting processes.

7. Gymnastics Australia should research and develop methods to assist gymnastics clubs in managing the risk of manual task injuries in gymnastics coaches.

8. Gymnastics Australia should review coach knowledge on spotting and provide additional guidance and training where required.

9. Gymnastics Australia should research the viability of a simple method to document skill progression of gymnasts, including any injuries suffered. This may vary for high level, competitive gymnasts and low level or recreational gymnasts.

Download the entire 25 page report. (PDF)

This report needs be circulated to sports governing bodies worldwide. Leave a comment if you have ideas on how to make that happen. I’ll send it to some FIG committee members and Gymnastics Canada.

Update: As commenters have pointed out, an improvement to this report would be to better specify exactly what parts of the gym need be “padded”. In the past I’ve narrowed it down to pits and trampoline devices. But it should be broader than that.

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Obstacle course military training has been around for thousands of years.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

But if we call it “Parkour” or “Free Running”, many kids are quick to sign up for the class. Those are some of the hottest classes in many gyms, right now.

Unfortunately some Insurance companies are starting to list “Parkour” as an “extreme sport”, too dangerous to cover. Check your policy.

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The scandal at ArtSports World in Colorado is bad news for all Gymnastics Clubs. Parents will understandably be more reluctant to register their kids after they read this story:

… Ten retired gymnasts told The Orange County Register that (Doug) Boger, a 62-year-old former national team coach, sexually or physically abused them while they trained in Pasadena, Calif., in the 1970s and 1980s. …

Since that revelation, at least 10 more recent athletes have contacted me to say that Boger was a great coach, and that they felt completely safe with him.

In the court of public opinion, certainly, Doug Boger will be assumed guilty. Whether he’s innocent or not.

… Is there any upside at all for the rest of us?

Perhaps clubs will be more open to scrutiny.

… There’s an observation deck for parents, as well as more than a dozen security cameras, at ArtSports, which isn’t a member of USA Gymnastics but mandates background checks for 50 employees and an annual safety certification, according to a statement emailed by ArtSports management after Womack declined comment. Instructors also aren’t “allowed to be alone with a student in our facility at any time,” the statement said. …

… Keeping everything in the open is the name of the game at Aerials Gymnastics, a USA Gymnastics-sanctioned club with three locations in the Springs, all of which have lots of windows, an observation area and security cameras. Aerials also has a policy at the two gyms owned by Tom and Lori Forster, with 1,200 athletes, that prohibits 55 coaches from contacting students outside of class – no calls, no texts, no Facebook posts, no tweets. …

… Stars National Gymnastics Village is contemplating a social media policy …

… Windows overlooking practice mats are a staple of The Little Gym of Colorado Springs …

Those quotes come from an article by Brian Gomez in the Colorado Springs Gazette – Safety of kids at gymnastics clubs called into question

Does your gym have good answers if a reporter like Brian comes asking?

And does your gym have one way glass between the gym and the parents viewing area?

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Annie sent me the link to the Blenheim Gymnastics plea for assistance in building a new gym.

It’s pretty convincing.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

They want to get part of a  $1,000,000  Community Fund available for non-profits.

You can help by  VOTING for the project online (until Oct 19th, 2011).

I voted. (Registration required, quite painless by Facebook.)

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USA GYMNASTICS NATIONAL CONGRESS and TRADE SHOW
Held in conjunction with 2011 VISA Championships
August 17-20, 2011
Saint Paul River Centre, Saint Paul, Minn.

Something for Everyone!

… Club Owners, Recreational Instructors/Teachers, Offices Managers, Program Managers, and more!

This year’s event will feature 3 days of education with more than 175 sessions.

Sessions are provided on coaching, judging, business, preschool, school age, fitness and cheerleading. Attendees will also have the ability to learn from leading experts from all 6 disciplines Women’s, Men’s, Rhythmic, Acrobatics, and Gymnastics for All.

In addition, USA Gymnastics is excited to announce 2 NEW offerings to the educational line up! Hands on Spotting sessions and Certification sessions will be offered and included in the price of registration. …

details on the 2011 National Congress and Trade Show

Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Here’s the preliminary list Topics and Presenters (PDF)

One new session I’d love to see is

Games Warm Ups for Bars – John Carney/Laurie Reid

John is Bars coach at Oregon State.

Prices vary. Check the Registration page to find out the cost to you.
_____

If your main interest is how to MAKE MONEY at Gymnastics, sign up for the Wednesday National Business Conference. ($150 current Member Club, $250 Non Member Clubs)

Separate registration via the link above.

Congress already has a Business Stream, so the extra Wednesday is BONUS.

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MissEducated is looking to raise cash quickly so her small club can replace their broken double mini-tramp in the U.K.

Trials and Nationals are coming up FAST.

The long and short of it is that the club needs raise about $4000 fast.

… We are looking at bag-packing at one of the big local supermarkets. We are running our annual tariff competition at the end of May and will be running a tombola there, but any other ideas that would work at a small competition would be great. …

I know how they can raise an easy $500 on a Saturday morning. …

But leave a comment if you’ve any brilliant, fast fund-raising ideas. Thanks.

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I’ve been following a sad court case in northern Australia. The death of adult recreational gymnast, Michelle Maitland, who fell from a tumbling trampoline, hitting her head on the concrete floor.

The final appeal for Townsville Gymnastics Association Inc AND Dean Allan Coggins was turned down. They were found guilty of not providing a safe facility:

(1) Concrete flooring and/or

(2) The failure to provide adequate protective covering to the landing area for gymnastic apparatus, namely a tumble tramp/tumble track.

Read the details of the appeal – Townsville Gymnastics (PDF)

What does that mean for us?

There should be no exposed concrete in any gym, especially anywhere near trampoline devices and pits.

If you offer adult recreation gymnastics, you need an excellent, experienced, authoritative coach who can ensure safety.

Rest in peace, Michelle.

related post – Queensland gymnastics safety assessment

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Coach John Geddert is over in Italy, feeling somewhat guilty that the rest of his gym is carrying on mid-season without him. (Quite well without him, in fact.)

One of the biggest downsides of coaching an Elite is all the time away.

Read the first in a series of his posts on SETTING UP YOUR ELITE PROGRAM.

Here’s an outline of the key points:

• Commitment
• Coach Passion
• Staff Support
• Parental Support

Kamerin MacKay Moore, John Geddert, Jordyn Wieber

details on – JohnGeddert.com

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Frank Sahlein is a business guru out of Boise, Idaho.

… a regular presenter on business trends and topics at state, regional and national congresses since 1982. He travels extensively, consulting with 3rd Level clients.

In August, 2009 Frank received the National Business Leader Award from USA Gymnastics for the second time. Frank has delivered business presentations for USA Gymnastics, the US Swim School Association, the Dance Studio Pro Seminars, the Martial Arts Supershow and various cheerleading associations. …

If you’re looking at opening a new gym, consult Frank.

The Americans are best in the world at the business of gymnastics. His company now has representatives in the USA, Canada, Australia and Mexico.

Contact Frank via 3rd Level Consulting if you want to know more.

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This excellent update was written by Hilary Findlay, Ph.D. LLB, and pertains to the Canadian context.

I got it via email as I subscribe to the Canadian Centre for Sport and Law – Newsletter.

In many service sectors, some form of police record check is now common. Obtaining police record checks for volunteers is part of an organization’s due diligence and part of their standard of care to ensure that risks within the organization are reasonably managed.

… there are some new updates and it is time to revisit the issue. For organizations, it is increasingly important to have a good handle on the nature of police record checks – what they are, what they can and cannot do, and what degree of check that you need for your volunteers.

‘Police record check’ is a blanket phrase that can refer to investigating the criminal history of a volunteer. But all police record checks are not created equal. In fact, there are two basic types of police record checks – a CPIC check and a local police record check. The source for each of these checks provides different information and gives you a different ‘product’. Which should you use? Why? …

Check the comments for the rest of that article.

The question I’ve had as a Head Coach is … “Who PAYS for the Police Check?”

I feel the club should pay, not the coach.

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(This is independent of the court case in which Townsville Gymnastics in Australia was fined $70,000. They’ve appealed.)

But here is the more important action, in my opinion:

TOWNSVILLE mother Anne Maitland is pleased her daughter Michelle’s death won’t be in vain, with the Queensland Government launching a safety assessment into the sport of gymnastics.

Michelle died from head injuries sustained during a fall on to a concrete floor at Townsville Gymnastics in June last year and yesterday Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations Cameron Dick announced an investigation into the safety of the sport.

Mr Dick said Workplace Health and Safety Queensland staff will begin talking with gymnastics organisations and peak bodies before Christmas. …

read more – Assessment of safety in gyms

Coach Mike Outram hit concrete at the bottom of a pit coming off a trampoline, and we feared he would be paralyzed.

We can save the Queensland Government some time. It’s essential that there be no exposed concrete anywhere near a trampoline device. Nor at the bottom of any pit. Any organization that has not covered concrete should be liable, in case of accident.

Leave a comment if you know if Gymnastics Australia has made any official statement on this assessment or the court case.

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