Arlington proposing to close county gymnastics program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those interested, County work session on this yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrPkJSDlBpQ&t=1657s

Take aways:

Gymanstics program NOT currently covering facility costs
Historically rec program used to subsidize competitive team.
Serious issues finding qualified instructors and they detailed all the things they've done to try to recruit instructors.
Since there are not enough instructors, currently rec classes are being canceled to be sure the competitive team can continue on
Barcroft is NOT heavily used during the day as compared to other rec centers (this is based on data)

The issue of a recreational and adaptive gymnastics program should be separated out from the competitive team.

Forgot this one -

They started the adult gymnastics program to try to get a pipeline of qualified instructors and it didn't work. Apparently there has been some community idea volunteers can be trained to help. With such a specialized and risky sport, County has not done this.

This was a totally stupid idea and shows how incompetent DPR are in running the program. I've heard that older gymnasts in the Barcroft program have tried to get jobs teaching classes or summer camps and DPR never gets back to them. There's absolutely no reason that a high school junior or senior couldn't help teach a class.

I though the adult classes were really important and there was widespread demand for adult gymnastics.

There is. But it wasn't a good idea for a recruiting technique. Those classes seem to be really popular. But as DPR admitted, they haven't resulted in hiring those adults as coaches

I don’t know if you’re the person who said it’s a stupid way to recruit instructors. Doesn’t seem stupid to me. You get creative if you can’t find people.

If you told the high school gymnasts on the competitive team that they each need to teach a rec class per week to keep the program open, you'd immediately have an entire slate of coaches. And they'd do it for free just to be able to keep doing gymnastics.

Yes I’’m sure in all their free time not in school or doing competitive gymnastics or their other obligations it will overlap perfectly for when people want rec classes.

Lol. You mean after school and weekends? Teens are available the same times that rec classes are demanded. And yeah, they would find an hour or two in their week to avoid having to quit gymnastics or commute multiple hours per week to a gym super far away

People do also want rec classes for 0-5 during the day. Do they not have gymnastics practice after school or in the evenings? The competitive gymnasts are free all afternoon, evening and weekends to provide a regular commitment. That is great. Problem solved.

The competitive gymnasts are practicing 20 hours a week after school, on top of their other club and academic commitments that are so common in this area for those planning on applying to college. They don't go home at 3 and sit on their couches.

The other option is to commute a very long distance to another gym, likely in Burke or similar. That would also take significant time. And teaching classes is resume worthy for college apps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those interested, County work session on this yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrPkJSDlBpQ&t=1657s

Take aways:

Gymanstics program NOT currently covering facility costs
Historically rec program used to subsidize competitive team.
Serious issues finding qualified instructors and they detailed all the things they've done to try to recruit instructors.
Since there are not enough instructors, currently rec classes are being canceled to be sure the competitive team can continue on
Barcroft is NOT heavily used during the day as compared to other rec centers (this is based on data)

The issue of a recreational and adaptive gymnastics program should be separated out from the competitive team.

Forgot this one -

They started the adult gymnastics program to try to get a pipeline of qualified instructors and it didn't work. Apparently there has been some community idea volunteers can be trained to help. With such a specialized and risky sport, County has not done this.

This was a totally stupid idea and shows how incompetent DPR are in running the program. I've heard that older gymnasts in the Barcroft program have tried to get jobs teaching classes or summer camps and DPR never gets back to them. There's absolutely no reason that a high school junior or senior couldn't help teach a class.

I though the adult classes were really important and there was widespread demand for adult gymnastics.

There is. But it wasn't a good idea for a recruiting technique. Those classes seem to be really popular. But as DPR admitted, they haven't resulted in hiring those adults as coaches

I don’t know if you’re the person who said it’s a stupid way to recruit instructors. Doesn’t seem stupid to me. You get creative if you can’t find people.

If you told the high school gymnasts on the competitive team that they each need to teach a rec class per week to keep the program open, you'd immediately have an entire slate of coaches. And they'd do it for free just to be able to keep doing gymnastics.

Yes I’’m sure in all their free time not in school or doing competitive gymnastics or their other obligations it will overlap perfectly for when people want rec classes.

Lol. You mean after school and weekends? Teens are available the same times that rec classes are demanded. And yeah, they would find an hour or two in their week to avoid having to quit gymnastics or commute multiple hours per week to a gym super far away

People do also want rec classes for 0-5 during the day. Do they not have gymnastics practice after school or in the evenings? The competitive gymnasts are free all afternoon, evening and weekends to provide a regular commitment. That is great. Problem solved.

The competitive gymnasts are practicing 20 hours a week after school, on top of their other club and academic commitments that are so common in this area for those planning on applying to college. They don't go home at 3 and sit on their couches.

Of course. This is why it is absurd to suggest they will fill the gap and get hired to teach a bunch of rec classes. Which is what a PP said.

[Anonymous]

Lots of kids in competitive sports drive to other jurisdictions to participate in teams based on lack of availability in Arlington. Its not some god given right that your sport will have a competitive team that’s nearby.

[Anonymous]

Moving to South Arlington this summer - where should I get on the waitlist so she can do gymnastics?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Moving to South Arlington this summer - where should I get on the waitlist so she can do gymnastics?!

sorry - for a 7 year old

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP what you are demanding is the county work harder to subsidize your competitive gymnastics team. I mean cmon. I don’t want them spending their time doing that as a taxpayer.

DPR's time is compensated by the fees they earn from rec classes. If they aren't doing their job and they keep cutting offerings year over year, then revenue keeps dropping year over year, resulting in cuts year over year. This year it's gymnastics. Next year it could be swim or senior programs or teen programs. It's a downward spiral. There's no reason the gymnastics program can't be self-supporting and offer gymnastics to a wide range of kids and adults in Arlington.

Well they said there is a reason. they can’t hire qualified people to teach this activity safely and they said other activities they’ve been able to bounce back and hire people. They mentioned life guards.

I think a disconnect is perhaps their standards of who to hire don’t match what you all find acceptable. I guess it’s their gym and they should figure out what risk they can tolerate.

So if there aren't gymnastics coaches, why don't they hire cheer coaches or someone to teach ninja classes or fitness classes in the space? Why don't they offer open gyms with a higher gymnast to staff ratio? Why don't they offer more toddler and preschool classes that require a lower skill level for the coaches? Why don't they offer birthday parties or private lessons that have a much higher margin? All of these are things that other gyms do.

so that the competitive team can be subsidized. Just to be clear that this is what you are suggesting.

Not just the competitive team but also rec gymnastics and adaptive. Those are all caught up in the same outcome. The facility needs to be fully utilized.

They are not though really because the county can figure out other ways to provide these programs at much lower cost.

They cannot provide rec gymnastics without a facility. Nor can the other local facilities absorb those gymnasts. Dynamic has sent a letter saying they have huge waiting lists for their classes and YMCA is similarly full.

They do not need that extensive of a facility to offer basic recreational and adaptive gymastics classes. Topic well covered on this thread.

The facility is already there. Coming up with a different facility would cost money.

The county should not be providing gymnastics at the level it is currently. It is not appropriate and apparently not typical. They don’t need to come up with some other specific facility to offer basic gymnastics. As described by another poster, basic equipment can be brought out at existing rec centers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to South Arlington this summer - where should I get on the waitlist so she can do gymnastics?!

sorry - for a 7 year old

You can try Dynamic, but you'll likely be on the wait list for at least 1-2 years before you get in.

Other options are Cardinal in Fairfax, Mosaic in Fairfax, or Apex in Leesburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those interested, County work session on this yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrPkJSDlBpQ&t=1657s

Take aways:

Gymanstics program NOT currently covering facility costs
Historically rec program used to subsidize competitive team.
Serious issues finding qualified instructors and they detailed all the things they've done to try to recruit instructors.
Since there are not enough instructors, currently rec classes are being canceled to be sure the competitive team can continue on
Barcroft is NOT heavily used during the day as compared to other rec centers (this is based on data)

The issue of a recreational and adaptive gymnastics program should be separated out from the competitive team.

Forgot this one -

They started the adult gymnastics program to try to get a pipeline of qualified instructors and it didn't work. Apparently there has been some community idea volunteers can be trained to help. With such a specialized and risky sport, County has not done this.

This was a totally stupid idea and shows how incompetent DPR are in running the program. I've heard that older gymnasts in the Barcroft program have tried to get jobs teaching classes or summer camps and DPR never gets back to them. There's absolutely no reason that a high school junior or senior couldn't help teach a class.

I though the adult classes were really important and there was widespread demand for adult gymnastics.

There is. But it wasn't a good idea for a recruiting technique. Those classes seem to be really popular. But as DPR admitted, they haven't resulted in hiring those adults as coaches

I don’t know if you’re the person who said it’s a stupid way to recruit instructors. Doesn’t seem stupid to me. You get creative if you can’t find people.

If you told the high school gymnasts on the competitive team that they each need to teach a rec class per week to keep the program open, you'd immediately have an entire slate of coaches. And they'd do it for free just to be able to keep doing gymnastics.

Yes I’’m sure in all their free time not in school or doing competitive gymnastics or their other obligations it will overlap perfectly for when people want rec classes.

Lol. You mean after school and weekends? Teens are available the same times that rec classes are demanded. And yeah, they would find an hour or two in their week to avoid having to quit gymnastics or commute multiple hours per week to a gym super far away

People do also want rec classes for 0-5 during the day. Do they not have gymnastics practice after school or in the evenings? The competitive gymnasts are free all afternoon, evening and weekends to provide a regular commitment. That is great. Problem solved.

The competitive gymnasts are practicing 20 hours a week after school, on top of their other club and academic commitments that are so common in this area for those planning on applying to college. They don't go home at 3 and sit on their couches.

Of course. This is why it is absurd to suggest they will fill the gap and get hired to teach a bunch of rec classes. Which is what a PP said.

Try asking them. They want to save their team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP what you are demanding is the county work harder to subsidize your competitive gymnastics team. I mean cmon. I don’t want them spending their time doing that as a taxpayer.

DPR's time is compensated by the fees they earn from rec classes. If they aren't doing their job and they keep cutting offerings year over year, then revenue keeps dropping year over year, resulting in cuts year over year. This year it's gymnastics. Next year it could be swim or senior programs or teen programs. It's a downward spiral. There's no reason the gymnastics program can't be self-supporting and offer gymnastics to a wide range of kids and adults in Arlington.

Well they said there is a reason. they can’t hire qualified people to teach this activity safely and they said other activities they’ve been able to bounce back and hire people. They mentioned life guards.

I think a disconnect is perhaps their standards of who to hire don’t match what you all find acceptable. I guess it’s their gym and they should figure out what risk they can tolerate.

So if there aren't gymnastics coaches, why don't they hire cheer coaches or someone to teach ninja classes or fitness classes in the space? Why don't they offer open gyms with a higher gymnast to staff ratio? Why don't they offer more toddler and preschool classes that require a lower skill level for the coaches? Why don't they offer birthday parties or private lessons that have a much higher margin? All of these are things that other gyms do.

so that the competitive team can be subsidized. Just to be clear that this is what you are suggesting.

Not just the competitive team but also rec gymnastics and adaptive. Those are all caught up in the same outcome. The facility needs to be fully utilized.

They are not though really because the county can figure out other ways to provide these programs at much lower cost.

They cannot provide rec gymnastics without a facility. Nor can the other local facilities absorb those gymnasts. Dynamic has sent a letter saying they have huge waiting lists for their classes and YMCA is similarly full.

They do not need that extensive of a facility to offer basic recreational and adaptive gymastics classes. Topic well covered on this thread.

The facility is already there. Coming up with a different facility would cost money.

The county should not be providing gymnastics at the level it is currently. It is not appropriate and apparently not typical. They don’t need to come up with some other specific facility to offer basic gymnastics. As described by another poster, basic equipment can be brought out at existing rec centers.

Flip flopping makes no sense. The county invested to expand the facility in 2017. It makes no sense to abandon that investment now. DPR should stand by their investment and make use of the facility to benefit county residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP what you are demanding is the county work harder to subsidize your competitive gymnastics team. I mean cmon. I don’t want them spending their time doing that as a taxpayer.

DPR's time is compensated by the fees they earn from rec classes. If they aren't doing their job and they keep cutting offerings year over year, then revenue keeps dropping year over year, resulting in cuts year over year. This year it's gymnastics. Next year it could be swim or senior programs or teen programs. It's a downward spiral. There's no reason the gymnastics program can't be self-supporting and offer gymnastics to a wide range of kids and adults in Arlington.

Well they said there is a reason. they can’t hire qualified people to teach this activity safely and they said other activities they’ve been able to bounce back and hire people. They mentioned life guards.

I think a disconnect is perhaps their standards of who to hire don’t match what you all find acceptable. I guess it’s their gym and they should figure out what risk they can tolerate.

So if there aren't gymnastics coaches, why don't they hire cheer coaches or someone to teach ninja classes or fitness classes in the space? Why don't they offer open gyms with a higher gymnast to staff ratio? Why don't they offer more toddler and preschool classes that require a lower skill level for the coaches? Why don't they offer birthday parties or private lessons that have a much higher margin? All of these are things that other gyms do.

so that the competitive team can be subsidized. Just to be clear that this is what you are suggesting.

Not just the competitive team but also rec gymnastics and adaptive. Those are all caught up in the same outcome. The facility needs to be fully utilized.

They are not though really because the county can figure out other ways to provide these programs at much lower cost.

They cannot provide rec gymnastics without a facility. Nor can the other local facilities absorb those gymnasts. Dynamic has sent a letter saying they have huge waiting lists for their classes and YMCA is similarly full.

They do not need that extensive of a facility to offer basic recreational and adaptive gymastics classes. Topic well covered on this thread.

The facility is already there. Coming up with a different facility would cost money.

The county should not be providing gymnastics at the level it is currently. It is not appropriate and apparently not typical. They don’t need to come up with some other specific facility to offer basic gymnastics. As described by another poster, basic equipment can be brought out at existing rec centers.

Flip flopping makes no sense. The county invested to expand the facility in 2017. It makes no sense to abandon that investment now. DPR should stand by their investment and make use of the facility to benefit county residents.

Did you have this energy when they tore down the children’s school building to build Cardinal 10 years after they built it? Doubt it.

I don’t know. Things change. It’s 10 years later. The premise of if we built it or invested in it we can never change it is flawed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those interested, County work session on this yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrPkJSDlBpQ&t=1657s

Take aways:

Gymanstics program NOT currently covering facility costs
Historically rec program used to subsidize competitive team.
Serious issues finding qualified instructors and they detailed all the things they've done to try to recruit instructors.
Since there are not enough instructors, currently rec classes are being canceled to be sure the competitive team can continue on
Barcroft is NOT heavily used during the day as compared to other rec centers (this is based on data)

The issue of a recreational and adaptive gymnastics program should be separated out from the competitive team.

Forgot this one -

They started the adult gymnastics program to try to get a pipeline of qualified instructors and it didn't work. Apparently there has been some community idea volunteers can be trained to help. With such a specialized and risky sport, County has not done this.

This was a totally stupid idea and shows how incompetent DPR are in running the program. I've heard that older gymnasts in the Barcroft program have tried to get jobs teaching classes or summer camps and DPR never gets back to them. There's absolutely no reason that a high school junior or senior couldn't help teach a class.

I though the adult classes were really important and there was widespread demand for adult gymnastics.

There is. But it wasn't a good idea for a recruiting technique. Those classes seem to be really popular. But as DPR admitted, they haven't resulted in hiring those adults as coaches

I don’t know if you’re the person who said it’s a stupid way to recruit instructors. Doesn’t seem stupid to me. You get creative if you can’t find people.

If you told the high school gymnasts on the competitive team that they each need to teach a rec class per week to keep the program open, you'd immediately have an entire slate of coaches. And they'd do it for free just to be able to keep doing gymnastics.

Yes I’’m sure in all their free time not in school or doing competitive gymnastics or their other obligations it will overlap perfectly for when people want rec classes.

Lol. You mean after school and weekends? Teens are available the same times that rec classes are demanded. And yeah, they would find an hour or two in their week to avoid having to quit gymnastics or commute multiple hours per week to a gym super far away

People do also want rec classes for 0-5 during the day. Do they not have gymnastics practice after school or in the evenings? The competitive gymnasts are free all afternoon, evening and weekends to provide a regular commitment. That is great. Problem solved.

The competitive gymnasts are practicing 20 hours a week after school, on top of their other club and academic commitments that are so common in this area for those planning on applying to college. They don't go home at 3 and sit on their couches.

Of course. This is why it is absurd to suggest they will fill the gap and get hired to teach a bunch of rec classes. Which is what a PP said.

Try asking them. They want to save their team.

I don’t think decisions should be made based on whether a current crop of teenagers say they can all teach one rec class per week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP what you are demanding is the county work harder to subsidize your competitive gymnastics team. I mean cmon. I don’t want them spending their time doing that as a taxpayer.

DPR's time is compensated by the fees they earn from rec classes. If they aren't doing their job and they keep cutting offerings year over year, then revenue keeps dropping year over year, resulting in cuts year over year. This year it's gymnastics. Next year it could be swim or senior programs or teen programs. It's a downward spiral. There's no reason the gymnastics program can't be self-supporting and offer gymnastics to a wide range of kids and adults in Arlington.

Well they said there is a reason. they can’t hire qualified people to teach this activity safely and they said other activities they’ve been able to bounce back and hire people. They mentioned life guards.

I think a disconnect is perhaps their standards of who to hire don’t match what you all find acceptable. I guess it’s their gym and they should figure out what risk they can tolerate.

So if there aren't gymnastics coaches, why don't they hire cheer coaches or someone to teach ninja classes or fitness classes in the space? Why don't they offer open gyms with a higher gymnast to staff ratio? Why don't they offer more toddler and preschool classes that require a lower skill level for the coaches? Why don't they offer birthday parties or private lessons that have a much higher margin? All of these are things that other gyms do.

so that the competitive team can be subsidized. Just to be clear that this is what you are suggesting.

Not just the competitive team but also rec gymnastics and adaptive. Those are all caught up in the same outcome. The facility needs to be fully utilized.

They are not though really because the county can figure out other ways to provide these programs at much lower cost.

They cannot provide rec gymnastics without a facility. Nor can the other local facilities absorb those gymnasts. Dynamic has sent a letter saying they have huge waiting lists for their classes and YMCA is similarly full.

They do not need that extensive of a facility to offer basic recreational and adaptive gymastics classes. Topic well covered on this thread.

The facility is already there. Coming up with a different facility would cost money.

The county should not be providing gymnastics at the level it is currently. It is not appropriate and apparently not typical. They don’t need to come up with some other specific facility to offer basic gymnastics. As described by another poster, basic equipment can be brought out at existing rec centers.

Flip flopping makes no sense. The county invested to expand the facility in 2017. It makes no sense to abandon that investment now. DPR should stand by their investment and make use of the facility to benefit county residents.

Did you have this energy when they tore down the children’s school building to build Cardinal 10 years after they built it? Doubt it.

I don’t know. Things change. It’s 10 years later. The premise of if we built it or invested in it we can never change it is flawed.

The fundamentals haven't changed. There are 1300 kids on waitlists for DPR gymnastics classes at Barcroft, plus 1800 kids in rec classes. There is absolutely no capacity in the area for Arlington kids to do gymnastics elsewhere. That's why Barcroft was expanded. Read the DPR press announcement--it was done because of overwhelming community demand. That demand is being entirely ignored by DPR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of kids in competitive sports drive to other jurisdictions to participate in teams based on lack of availability in Arlington. Its not some god given right that your sport will have a competitive team that’s nearby.

Exactly! We've been driving my son to PG county Maryland for the past 4-5 years for his chosen travel sport. Arlington taxpayers should not have to subsidize a small (relative to county size) group of elite gymnasts when it does not subsidize or provide free fields for other rec or travel sports. That said, I think the county can still offer gymnastics and charge enough to hire good instructors and maintain a section of the facility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP what you are demanding is the county work harder to subsidize your competitive gymnastics team. I mean cmon. I don’t want them spending their time doing that as a taxpayer.

DPR's time is compensated by the fees they earn from rec classes. If they aren't doing their job and they keep cutting offerings year over year, then revenue keeps dropping year over year, resulting in cuts year over year. This year it's gymnastics. Next year it could be swim or senior programs or teen programs. It's a downward spiral. There's no reason the gymnastics program can't be self-supporting and offer gymnastics to a wide range of kids and adults in Arlington.

Well they said there is a reason. they can’t hire qualified people to teach this activity safely and they said other activities they’ve been able to bounce back and hire people. They mentioned life guards.

I think a disconnect is perhaps their standards of who to hire don’t match what you all find acceptable. I guess it’s their gym and they should figure out what risk they can tolerate.

So if there aren't gymnastics coaches, why don't they hire cheer coaches or someone to teach ninja classes or fitness classes in the space? Why don't they offer open gyms with a higher gymnast to staff ratio? Why don't they offer more toddler and preschool classes that require a lower skill level for the coaches? Why don't they offer birthday parties or private lessons that have a much higher margin? All of these are things that other gyms do.

so that the competitive team can be subsidized. Just to be clear that this is what you are suggesting.

Not just the competitive team but also rec gymnastics and adaptive. Those are all caught up in the same outcome. The facility needs to be fully utilized.

They are not though really because the county can figure out other ways to provide these programs at much lower cost.

They cannot provide rec gymnastics without a facility. Nor can the other local facilities absorb those gymnasts. Dynamic has sent a letter saying they have huge waiting lists for their classes and YMCA is similarly full.

They do not need that extensive of a facility to offer basic recreational and adaptive gymastics classes. Topic well covered on this thread.

The facility is already there. Coming up with a different facility would cost money.

The county should not be providing gymnastics at the level it is currently. It is not appropriate and apparently not typical. They don’t need to come up with some other specific facility to offer basic gymnastics. As described by another poster, basic equipment can be brought out at existing rec centers.

Flip flopping makes no sense. The county invested to expand the facility in 2017. It makes no sense to abandon that investment now. DPR should stand by their investment and make use of the facility to benefit county residents.

Did you have this energy when they tore down the children’s school building to build Cardinal 10 years after they built it? Doubt it.

I don’t know. Things change. It’s 10 years later. The premise of if we built it or invested in it we can never change it is flawed.

The fundamentals haven't changed. There are 1300 kids on waitlists for DPR gymnastics classes at Barcroft, plus 1800 kids in rec classes. There is absolutely no capacity in the area for Arlington kids to do gymnastics elsewhere. That's why Barcroft was expanded. Read the DPR press announcement--it was done because of overwhelming community demand. That demand is being entirely ignored by DPR.

It’s not. They are saying they can’t find qualified instructors. You can accuse them of lying about this or being incompetent, which is what people here have done. You can suggest their standards of instruction are too high, which people here have done. What seems silly to say is they are ignoring the demand.

They are canceling rec classes to be sure the available coaches can be provided to the competitive team. So maybe jettisoning the competitive team will help with the waitlists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP what you are demanding is the county work harder to subsidize your competitive gymnastics team. I mean cmon. I don’t want them spending their time doing that as a taxpayer.

DPR's time is compensated by the fees they earn from rec classes. If they aren't doing their job and they keep cutting offerings year over year, then revenue keeps dropping year over year, resulting in cuts year over year. This year it's gymnastics. Next year it could be swim or senior programs or teen programs. It's a downward spiral. There's no reason the gymnastics program can't be self-supporting and offer gymnastics to a wide range of kids and adults in Arlington.

Well they said there is a reason. they can’t hire qualified people to teach this activity safely and they said other activities they’ve been able to bounce back and hire people. They mentioned life guards.

I think a disconnect is perhaps their standards of who to hire don’t match what you all find acceptable. I guess it’s their gym and they should figure out what risk they can tolerate.

So if there aren't gymnastics coaches, why don't they hire cheer coaches or someone to teach ninja classes or fitness classes in the space? Why don't they offer open gyms with a higher gymnast to staff ratio? Why don't they offer more toddler and preschool classes that require a lower skill level for the coaches? Why don't they offer birthday parties or private lessons that have a much higher margin? All of these are things that other gyms do.

so that the competitive team can be subsidized. Just to be clear that this is what you are suggesting.

Not just the competitive team but also rec gymnastics and adaptive. Those are all caught up in the same outcome. The facility needs to be fully utilized.

They are not though really because the county can figure out other ways to provide these programs at much lower cost.

They cannot provide rec gymnastics without a facility. Nor can the other local facilities absorb those gymnasts. Dynamic has sent a letter saying they have huge waiting lists for their classes and YMCA is similarly full.

They do not need that extensive of a facility to offer basic recreational and adaptive gymastics classes. Topic well covered on this thread.

The facility is already there. Coming up with a different facility would cost money.

The county should not be providing gymnastics at the level it is currently. It is not appropriate and apparently not typical. They don’t need to come up with some other specific facility to offer basic gymnastics. As described by another poster, basic equipment can be brought out at existing rec centers.

Flip flopping makes no sense. The county invested to expand the facility in 2017. It makes no sense to abandon that investment now. DPR should stand by their investment and make use of the facility to benefit county residents.

Did you have this energy when they tore down the children’s school building to build Cardinal 10 years after they built it? Doubt it.

I don’t know. Things change. It’s 10 years later. The premise of if we built it or invested in it we can never change it is flawed.

The fundamentals haven't changed. There are 1300 kids on waitlists for DPR gymnastics classes at Barcroft, plus 1800 kids in rec classes. There is absolutely no capacity in the area for Arlington kids to do gymnastics elsewhere. That's why Barcroft was expanded. Read the DPR press announcement--it was done because of overwhelming community demand. That demand is being entirely ignored by DPR.

It’s not. They are saying they can’t find qualified instructors. You can accuse them of lying about this or being incompetent, which is what people here have done. You can suggest their standards of instruction are too high, which people here have done. What seems silly to say is they are ignoring the demand.

They are canceling rec classes to be sure the available coaches can be provided to the competitive team. So maybe jettisoning the competitive team will help with the waitlists.

The existing coaches will leave if you cut the competitive team. They want to coach competitive gymnastics and are trained to do so. It's not a high paying job, but is a passion. These same coaches may also teach rec classes, but they aren't going to stop wanting to coach competitive gymnastics.