Arlington proposing to close county gymnastics program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us are repeating what Parks said. They detailed the many ways they tried to hire qualified staff and said it’s a regional issue that there aren’t enough qualified staff. How are they supposed to serve all these people in a high risk, niche sport without qualified instructors? And yes they should have a standard for qualified instructors.

We are faced with anecdotes from highly biased benefactors of the program vs what parks staff are portraying. I’m left wondering…why would they lie about this? You think they are having a good time right now being bombarded with this level of grief. So the actual scenario is they tanked the gymnastics program because they don’t care and then as a big finale they proposed this reduction to get widely abused and insulted. Does that sound rational?

We were told they drastically underestimated the reaction.. so no, I don't think they realized the response. You can obviously choose to believe what you want, but yes, misinformation is coming out of DPR.

It's ok, you don't have to believe there is more to the story and you are welcome to start a anti gymnastics coalition. But you don't find out suspicious at all that they just want to close a building for 12 months with Zero public plan? Or that we have tried for 6 years for a MOU and kept getting told it was tied up? Or that we have been fighting for a year plus just to get lights replaced in the facility so the gym is safe? Or that the county refused to collect the fees that they asked us to collect for our meets? Or that the coaches asked to coach more and were told no? Or that highly qualified people apply and never get a call? Or that the team kids apply for the summer and never get contacted? Or that their list of comparable gyms included gyms that aren't even the same sport?

To be clear we were told by the county that we (the parents) need to put in the work to and give them data and solutions because they don't have resources to fully evaluate everything.

This county is amazing and we are lucky to live here and there are many great people that work for the county and I am very grateful for them. That doesn't mean the public story is always the the most accurate version of events and it certainly doesn't mean mismanagement isn't a possibility.

I think most things have 2 sides and the truth. I agree mismanagement is very possible and also they had to know this would cause all eyes to be on their program. So the ultimate mismanagement would be if they chose to put this cut up and expose all their mismanagement and didn’t have their ducks in a row.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This entire thread has lots of insults. I guess it’s easier when it’s anonymous.

I can’t even believe they would have not seen this reaction coming. The rest of it ok maybe they mismanaged. But anyone who has been in Arlington for any amount of time knows how these things roll and this would start holy hell on the scale of APS Boundary Wars.

I do not think people yelling in a message board is a reflection of the overall campaign. We have requested over and over that folks be polite and respectful..I will offer apologies for everyone that was not in this post because that is not how we wish to proceed, but I can not control Anonymous folks in a message board known for being harsh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us are repeating what Parks said. They detailed the many ways they tried to hire qualified staff and said it’s a regional issue that there aren’t enough qualified staff. How are they supposed to serve all these people in a high risk, niche sport without qualified instructors? And yes they should have a standard for qualified instructors.

We are faced with anecdotes from highly biased benefactors of the program vs what parks staff are portraying. I’m left wondering…why would they lie about this? You think they are having a good time right now being bombarded with this level of grief. So the actual scenario is they tanked the gymnastics program because they don’t care and then as a big finale they proposed this reduction to get widely abused and insulted. Does that sound rational?

We were told they drastically underestimated the reaction.. so no, I don't think they realized the response. You can obviously choose to believe what you want, but yes, misinformation is coming out of DPR.

It's ok, you don't have to believe there is more to the story and you are welcome to start a anti gymnastics coalition. But you don't find out suspicious at all that they just want to close a building for 12 months with Zero public plan? Or that we have tried for 6 years for a MOU and kept getting told it was tied up? Or that we have been fighting for a year plus just to get lights replaced in the facility so the gym is safe? Or that the county refused to collect the fees that they asked us to collect for our meets? Or that the coaches asked to coach more and were told no? Or that highly qualified people apply and never get a call? Or that the team kids apply for the summer and never get contacted? Or that their list of comparable gyms included gyms that aren't even the same sport?

To be clear we were told by the county that we (the parents) need to put in the work to and give them data and solutions because they don't have resources to fully evaluate everything.

This county is amazing and we are lucky to live here and there are many great people that work for the county and I am very grateful for them. That doesn't mean the public story is always the the most accurate version of events and it certainly doesn't mean mismanagement isn't a possibility.

I think most things have 2 sides and the truth. I agree mismanagement is very possible and also they had to know this would cause all eyes to be on their program. So the ultimate mismanagement would be if they chose to put this cut up and expose all their mismanagement and didn’t have their ducks in a row.

The real frustration is that DPR communicated nothing until announcing it was shutting down the program and sending termination notices. This is a public amenity. Information needs to be shared. There are not two sides to that. Everyone outside of DPR and the County Manager's office was blindsided by this proposal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us are repeating what Parks said. They detailed the many ways they tried to hire qualified staff and said it’s a regional issue that there aren’t enough qualified staff. How are they supposed to serve all these people in a high risk, niche sport without qualified instructors? And yes they should have a standard for qualified instructors.

We are faced with anecdotes from highly biased benefactors of the program vs what parks staff are portraying. I’m left wondering…why would they lie about this? You think they are having a good time right now being bombarded with this level of grief. So the actual scenario is they tanked the gymnastics program because they don’t care and then as a big finale they proposed this reduction to get widely abused and insulted. Does that sound rational?

We were told they drastically underestimated the reaction.. so no, I don't think they realized the response. You can obviously choose to believe what you want, but yes, misinformation is coming out of DPR.

It's ok, you don't have to believe there is more to the story and you are welcome to start a anti gymnastics coalition. But you don't find out suspicious at all that they just want to close a building for 12 months with Zero public plan? Or that we have tried for 6 years for a MOU and kept getting told it was tied up? Or that we have been fighting for a year plus just to get lights replaced in the facility so the gym is safe? Or that the county refused to collect the fees that they asked us to collect for our meets? Or that the coaches asked to coach more and were told no? Or that highly qualified people apply and never get a call? Or that the team kids apply for the summer and never get contacted? Or that their list of comparable gyms included gyms that aren't even the same sport?

To be clear we were told by the county that we (the parents) need to put in the work to and give them data and solutions because they don't have resources to fully evaluate everything.

This county is amazing and we are lucky to live here and there are many great people that work for the county and I am very grateful for them. That doesn't mean the public story is always the the most accurate version of events and it certainly doesn't mean mismanagement isn't a possibility.

I think most things have 2 sides and the truth. I agree mismanagement is very possible and also they had to know this would cause all eyes to be on their program. So the ultimate mismanagement would be if they chose to put this cut up and expose all their mismanagement and didn’t have their ducks in a row.

The real frustration is that DPR communicated nothing until announcing it was shutting down the program and sending termination notices. This is a public amenity. Information needs to be shared. There are not two sides to that. Everyone outside of DPR and the County Manager's office was blindsided by this proposal.

From the outside it is may be odd to understand why they would tell us, but we have monthly meetings with DPR staff and what is essentially quarterly with DPR heads. We had what we thought was a partnership so feeling blindsided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's crazy how much misinformation is out there or how some people speak about the rec and competitive programs and really have no knowledge of how it works.

Only a handful of people have knowledge of "how it works" because it's a resource that has been focused on serving the needs of that handful of people for several years, without offering much for the community at large. Resources have been focused on the competition team and the rec program has dwindled. People get frustrated that they can never get their kids into the rec classes because they always fill up immediately and the waitlists never move. Even if you can get into classes, there's no guarantee your kid will be able to continue with it in the next session because of the oversubscription.

So to a large degree, the lack of knowledge and understanding of the program is due to the program's own mismanagement and concentration of resources towards a small group of "insiders". Well now those insiders want to fight to keep that program that mostly only benefits them, and it turns out everyone else, who mostly have no direct experience with the program (and some case whose only experience is with being unable to get their kids into classes or to sign up for them themselves) are not eager to go to bat for a program with limited utility outside a small group of people in the know.

You are right I don't know much about rec and competitive programs at Barcroft. That is largely because neither I nor my kids have ever been able to take a class there. It just doesn't seem the program had much interest in us, so now we have very little interest in the program.

Proving the point

[Anonymous]

Like I keep saying it's staff run amok.
https://www.arlnow.com/2026/03/09/staff-defend-eliminating-gymnastics-programs-as-county-board-weighs-options/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like I keep saying it's staff run amok.
https://www.arlnow.com/2026/03/09/staff-defend-eliminating-gymnastics-programs-as-county-board-weighs-options/

Sorry how do you figure this shows staff have run amok?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like I keep saying it's staff run amok.
https://www.arlnow.com/2026/03/09/staff-defend-eliminating-gymnastics-programs-as-county-board-weighs-options/

This leaps out at me:

In fiscal 2025, the recreational program recouped 57% of its $931,000 in costs, well below the amount desired by county officials. In fiscal 2019, it had recouped 96%.

The lack of trained staff has led to class cancellations, further cutting into the program’s viability, Rudolph said.

If they choose to keep the program and keep Barcroft open, I want to see a really concrete and actionable plan to address these problems directly. A program running almost a half-million in the red that ALSO frequently cancels programming due to lack of staffing, is not acceptable to me as a tax payer. I'm not anti gymnastics but that sounds like a boondoggle to me. Either the program figures out how to cover more of its costs or it needs to go.

I continue to have questions about the degree to which the program is subsidizing competitive gymnastics for families who can afford to pay a lot more for it. I want more info about these fee waivers for the competitive teams (sounds like 20 fee waivers across both teams, which is a lot of money). I also think either non-county residents should not be allowed to participate OR they need to pay a big premium to participate because it's insane for county tax dollars to subsidize competitive gymnasts who don't even live or pay taxes in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like I keep saying it's staff run amok.
https://www.arlnow.com/2026/03/09/staff-defend-eliminating-gymnastics-programs-as-county-board-weighs-options/

This leaps out at me:

In fiscal 2025, the recreational program recouped 57% of its $931,000 in costs, well below the amount desired by county officials. In fiscal 2019, it had recouped 96%.

The lack of trained staff has led to class cancellations, further cutting into the program’s viability, Rudolph said.

If they choose to keep the program and keep Barcroft open, I want to see a really concrete and actionable plan to address these problems directly. A program running almost a half-million in the red that ALSO frequently cancels programming due to lack of staffing, is not acceptable to me as a tax payer. I'm not anti gymnastics but that sounds like a boondoggle to me. Either the program figures out how to cover more of its costs or it needs to go.

I continue to have questions about the degree to which the program is subsidizing competitive gymnastics for families who can afford to pay a lot more for it. I want more info about these fee waivers for the competitive teams (sounds like 20 fee waivers across both teams, which is a lot of money). I also think either non-county residents should not be allowed to participate OR they need to pay a big premium to participate because it's insane for county tax dollars to subsidize competitive gymnasts who don't even live or pay taxes in Arlington.

Just to be clear it is not fee waivers, it is fee reductions and it varies % wise. So some may get more than others i am honestly not sure how the county determines fee reductions (what formula they use) but it is only in county residents.

Arlington wants about 85% fee recovery for programs like this. Years ago we were told that the county would raised the out of county % to a standard 15% across all levels to help with this. The county didnt implement this. They also dont collect fees that they told us to collect..

The competitive team has proposed fee increases, enrollment fees and out of county surcharge increases to get us to 85-100%.

We have also proposes fee increases for rec. Classes are currently less than half that if private classes. We do think there is room for increase while still making classes affordable (they are a little over $13 a class now)


I fully agree that the staffing situation is unacceptable. We have proposed lots of solutions to increase revenue and have had these ongoing convos with DPR for years and it just goes into a black hole.

I would obviously love the program to continue. I think we can make cost recovery goals with a few simple changes
.

[Anonymous]

$13/class is absolute insanity. DPR could easily increase that and still meet demand. Also, I agree about higher fees for out of county residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$13/class is absolute insanity. DPR could easily increase that and still meet demand. Also, I agree about higher fees for out of county residents.

The same is true of AAC. If youth sports that don't recover fees were looked at holistically, there's a way to spread this out more fairly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$13/class is absolute insanity. DPR could easily increase that and still meet demand. Also, I agree about higher fees for out of county residents.

The same is true of AAC. If youth sports that don't recover fees were looked at holistically, there's a way to spread this out more fairly.

Why should costs for a competitive gymnastics team be spread out more fairly? What's fair about that?

AAC and competitive gymnastics shouldn't be run out of the County at all.

The role of a parks and rec department is in the title. Rec.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$13/class is absolute insanity. DPR could easily increase that and still meet demand. Also, I agree about higher fees for out of county residents.

The same is true of AAC. If youth sports that don't recover fees were looked at holistically, there's a way to spread this out more fairly.

Why should costs for a competitive gymnastics team be spread out more fairly? What's fair about that?

AAC and competitive gymnastics shouldn't be run out of the County at all.

The role of a parks and rec department is in the title. Rec.

This. Why can't the county JUST run a rec gymnastics program. If there is a coaching shortage, why not have all the coaches teach rec. If there is interest in competitive gymnastics in the county, then people can start a private gym. It's never been explained why, if there's so much interest in competitive gymnastics, that's not an option.

[Anonymous]

I have to say that I really do not want my tax dollars subsidizing this. My kids do rock climbing that is not subsidized by taxes. I am not sure why gymnastics should be. Sliding fee scales are great, but then charge a premium to the full pay kids. I am taking tennis through parks and rec - I really hope taxpayers are not subsidizing that. I get having the county cover the cost of building the facilities etc - but coaching and any marginal costs should be covered by the fees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to say that I really do not want my tax dollars subsidizing this. My kids do rock climbing that is not subsidized by taxes. I am not sure why gymnastics should be. Sliding fee scales are great, but then charge a premium to the full pay kids. I am taking tennis through parks and rec - I really hope taxpayers are not subsidizing that. I get having the county cover the cost of building the facilities etc - but coaching and any marginal costs should be covered by the fees.

Of course tax payers are subsidizing your tennis. Every single program in parks and rec is subsidized. That is pretty much the entire point of parks and rec classes.