more transparancy at Gym Clubs

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?