Reply to Arlington proposing to close county gymnastics program

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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. [/quote]

Barcroft also has baseball facilities. Should we do away with those? What about the many many soccer fields? The $$$ aquatics center and HS pools? Let’s just get rid of all youth programs so your precious tax dollars don’t have to support any of this. 🙄 Clearly we shouldn’t subsidize things you random poster don’t personally use.[/quote]

These facilities (aside from Long Bridge) are likely funding a huge part of their cost from rentals, classes, and use fees. I am most familiar with Yorktown and W&L pools, and they are booked up for 10-12+ hours a day Monday-Sunday, between paid public access, private rentals, APS instructional needs, and APS swim school programs.

Soccer fields and baseball fields are similarly booked up, have lower costs than a purpose built gym where kids can become paralyzed from one simple fall, and are generally situated on land the county does not want to build. The costs are nowhere near comparable to a purpose built elite gymnastics facility which is not accessible at all to the general public. [/quote]
To be clear, Barcroft isn't an elite gym.  It's a basic gymnastics gym.  It is far from having all the bells and whistles that you see at elite gyms.  The county program tries hard to make affordable choices, like choosing a less expensive competition leotard and keeping the same one for years so they can be passed down.  You'll also see Dynamic flying 7-9 yos to Florida for competition, while the county program has parents drive to Woodbridge.  It's designed to make gymnastics more affordable by its choices.  The parent association also hosts a home meet each year with a huge amount of parent labor to raise money to pay coaches and pay competition fees.  I think a lot of folks don't understand how the program is run.  It's purposely frugal.  It's not a flashy commercial program.

If the Barcroft gymnastics facility isn't 100% booked right now, that's because APR isn't doing its job.  There is tons of demand. I have no idea what it's utilization is (nor do you) but it could be booked all of the time and it already is used year round, including during times when other facilities are closed like the weeks between Xmas and New Year's and during spring break.  Gymnastics is always happening.

And yes, kids can get hurt doing gymnastics, but they can drown in pools, break bones on playgrounds or get concussions playing soccer.  Meh.[/quote]

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