Arlington proposing to close county gymnastics program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not really whether demand is there. It’s should the county be doing it at all. I don’t really need to pay tax dollars so Larlas can take heavily subsidized gymnastics in prime County space that could be used to serve residents more broadly. Let alone subsidizing some kind of club gymnastics team. Who knew that was even a thing.

Private places will fill the gap eventually if the county stops doing it.

I don't think new gyms will appear. There aren't large spaces available and equipment is a fortune as an initial investment. There's already enough demand in Arlington to keep 2-3 more gyms busy, but they haven't appeared.

Arlington just spent tons and tons of money building a fancy new swim facility at Long Bridge. Why does that get to stay but gymnastics is out? There are private swim clubs that could have filled that gap.

[Anonymous]

DS took some excellent gymnastics classes at Barcroft when he was little isn’t there another facility on Carlin Springs Road about 5 minutes away though by the REI? Or is that not comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS took some excellent gymnastics classes at Barcroft when he was little isn’t there another facility on Carlin Springs Road about 5 minutes away though by the REI? Or is that not comparable.

Not really. Dynamics is great, but their gym is small, seems already to be oversubscribed, and its competitive team isn’t as competitive.
The other small gymnastics gyms locally are great for little tumblers (preschool, early elementary) but aren’t really for gymnastics beyond that. The closest competitive programs are in Burke or beyond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not really whether demand is there. It’s should the county be doing it at all. I don’t really need to pay tax dollars so Larlas can take heavily subsidized gymnastics in prime County space that could be used to serve residents more broadly. Let alone subsidizing some kind of club gymnastics team. Who knew that was even a thing.

Private places will fill the gap eventually if the county stops doing it.

Sure. I get it. Gross that 1/10 of a penny increase in your tax rate would support the only gymnastics program in the area that provides a sliding scale fee structure. Meanwhile, the competitive teams also bring in revenue from families who live in other counties, who literally pay 30% more of the full freight cost to compete with our coaches. The teams compete and win at state, regional, and national competitions. Not because they have only the wealthiest kids in this county competing, but because they make it so that any kid from any family could build the skills and confidence to compete, and do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the insurance costs people

And the litigious parents who will sue if their darling snowflake gets a hair out of place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the insurance costs people

That wasn't identified by the county as a problem. The biggest issue seems to be rebuilding after COVID. My understanding is that a lot of coaches left when the gym was closed and they weren't getting paid, plus a number of competitive gymnasts dropped and didn't come back (it's hard to get your skills and conditioning back). So it's been a multi-year rebuilding process. The county also hasn't been fully utilizing the facility because of a shortage of staff, making it hard to fully recover fees that pay management. But there is absolutely demand for the program (with long waitlists) and no other local alternatives. The county also hasn't explored any alternatives like a fee increase or changes in how the program is staffed.

[Anonymous]

I feel for the competitive gymnasts. What other gyms are even close to there? Fairfax possibly but still a hike. Same with Chantilly Academy.

[Anonymous]

They would never try this with a sport that is typically associated with boys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They would never try this with a sport that is typically associated with boys.

They're closing down the boys program too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They would never try this with a sport that is typically associated with boys.

it's both boys and girls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel for the competitive gymnasts. What other gyms are even close to there? Fairfax possibly but still a hike. Same with Chantilly Academy.

Most the good coaches left and went to Cardinal Gymnasts , Dynamic Gymastics (literally up the street) , YMCA gymnastics, Capital Gymnastics, and for just tumbling there are many other options for little kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel for the competitive gymnasts. What other gyms are even close to there? Fairfax possibly but still a hike. Same with Chantilly Academy.

Most the good coaches left and went to Cardinal Gymnasts , Dynamic Gymastics (literally up the street) , YMCA gymnastics, Capital Gymnastics, Mega Gymnastis and for just tumbling there are many other options for little kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Most the good coaches left and went to Cardinal Gymnasts , Dynamic Gymastics (literally up the street) , YMCA gymnastics, Capital Gymnastics, Mega Gymnastis and for just tumbling there are many other options for little kids.

Cardinal and Capital are in Burke. Mega is in Lorton. Dynamic is full and has long waitlists. YMCA is tiny and doesn't have room for a full team. Options are super limited.

There used to be a Dynamic Gymnastics location across from W-L, but APS bought the lot and evicted them only to leave the facility empty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should the county have a competitive gymnastics team - NO. This program has a million things wrong with it and mostly Carly. For a county sport they stack the teams with older kids just to look like a winning team and play favorites, the favorites being whoever would suck up to carly the most as well as go on her little fun trips where she posted pictures of teen girls in bikinis. They take the winning side too serious its a county gym and the county resides should be allowed to be on the lower levels of the team. Whe my daughter went there we had to try out three years in a row when other commercial gyms would take our kid. We also had to pay for lessons at other gyms. There are plenty in the area. The parents on the board are the worst a lot of elite rich women who think money is no issue just because it is not an issue for them. I hope they just kill the program all together and build a community center.

Your issue with the program is a single person? That's just a grudge.

Arlington already hosts competitive swim (including spending on the ridiculous facility that is Long Bridge) and host fields space for a million other competitive sports.

The swim team, AAC, is also ridiculous. The County should not be employing coaches and paying for competitive teams. They run rec leauges that are first-come, first-serve and that should be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should the county have a competitive gymnastics team - NO. This program has a million things wrong with it and mostly Carly. For a county sport they stack the teams with older kids just to look like a winning team and play favorites, the favorites being whoever would suck up to carly the most as well as go on her little fun trips where she posted pictures of teen girls in bikinis. They take the winning side too serious its a county gym and the county resides should be allowed to be on the lower levels of the team. Whe my daughter went there we had to try out three years in a row when other commercial gyms would take our kid. We also had to pay for lessons at other gyms. There are plenty in the area. The parents on the board are the worst a lot of elite rich women who think money is no issue just because it is not an issue for them. I hope they just kill the program all together and build a community center.

Your issue with the program is a single person? That's just a grudge.

Arlington already hosts competitive swim (including spending on the ridiculous facility that is Long Bridge) and host fields space for a million other competitive sports.

They rent the fields to the competitive teams in the other sports, which are run by outside groups. And parents pay a lot. A money maker.